Vessel
by Shanomatic
Summary: Izuku Midoriya has been told all his life that he can't be a hero, that he was Quirkless. But that's not gonna stop him; with the support of those around him, he's determined to be the best hero he can be! And who knows? Maybe he's not as Quirkless as he's been told...
1. Izuku Midoriya: Origin

**Had this idea stuck in my head for a while, thought I'd give it a whirl. Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Izuku Midoriya: Origin**_

* * *

All men were not created equal.

A hard lesson, but one nearly every child for the past nine generations had to learn early; in a world with Quirks, disparities were all too obvious.

Quirks. Superpowers for some, curses for others. Their usefulness ranges from telekinesis and super strength to having a cactus for a head; truly, the world could be cruel.

No one is sure how they were brought about, only that a glowing baby in Qingqing brought about the greatest societal change mankind has ever seen.

For a while, there was anarchy; the definition of human became blurred, debated. Loved ones turned on one another, fearful of what their new-found powers were capable of. Governments collapsed, unable to handle the strain of the upheaval; it was a new dark age, one supercharged by fantastic abilities.

When order returned, it was not under the benevolent hand of a savior, but the iron grip of a tyrant, one who could steal the powers of others, one who has long since been forgotten by history.

But where evil reigns, good rises to stop it. Heroes, as they were called, were able to drag the world from the brink, bring about a new society where Quirks can be accepted and used for the greater good.

Everyone wishes to be a hero. For many, it is merely a dream, out of reach, for all men were not created equal; Izuku Midoriya was about to learn this the hard way.

VVV

"Forget it kid, its not happening."

Inko Midoriya gave a stern a look she could to the man across from her. '_How dare he be so nonchalant about this! _she thought.

She was not the most an intimidating woman, standing at only 5'3" and sporting a thin frame, her most noticeable feature being her naturally green hair. Even so, she was a mother, and could be downright terrifying when it came to protect her child.

That child, Izuku Midoriya, looked much like his mother: green hair and eyes, however he sported freckles on his cheeks, unlike her. His face was typically contorted in a large, almost infectious smile, a habit picked up from his idle.

Right now, however, he looked as if he had just seen a ghost; wide eyed, shaking in what could only be anxiety.

"I don't understand doctor," Inko inquired, "he doesn't have the toe joint, surely he should have a Quirk?"

"The toe joint just tells us if its possible to have a Quirk, it's no guarantee" the doctor said, pushing his glasses up, "Midoriya-kun is five now, if he doesn't have a Quirk yet, he's not getting one."

"Surely there are cases of late bloomers?" Inko pressed, unwilling to have her son's dreams crushed so callously.

For a second, a glint of hope appeared in Izuku's eyes, the trademark optimism he had kept up for the past year.

"Look Midoriya-san," the doctor said, leaning over his desk. "I don't enjoy being the bearer of bad news but, the kid is Quirkless, best to accept that now than have him clinging to false hope."

And just like that, it was gone again. Inko looked down at her son; he looked to be on the verge of tears.

She stood abruptly, taking Izuku's hand. "Thank you for your time," she said, venom in her tone, "time to go Izuku."

She quickly walked Izuku out of the office and away from that horrible man. _Didn't enjoy it my butt! _she thought, _he could have at least been nicer about it!_

She looked down at her son; his expression emotionless, as if still digesting the news he had received. How could she make him understand?

"Honey," she whispered, holding her baby closer, "do you… wanna talk about what happened?"

She took his silence as a no.

That silence persisted for the train ride, and into the night as Izuku locked himself away in his room. No amount of coaxing could get him to open up; not even a hot bowl of Katsudon could lure him out.

She couldn't bear to see her son so defeated.

Inko was finally ready to give up for the night and returned to his door to say goodnight when she heard it, the voice she had come all too familiar with over the years.

"**FEAR NOT CITIZENS. WHY? BECAUSE I AM HERE."**

All Might. The number one hero in Japan, perhaps even the world. He was leagues above his contemporaries, the Symbol of Peace and Justice. Everyone looked up to All Might, but no one as much Izuku. His closest competitor was his friend Katsuki, and even his admiration paled in comparison to her son's.

Inko gently turned the knob, surprised to see it unlocked; Izuku must have left and forgotten to lock it. His room was dark, the blinds closed and lights off, the only source of light being the computer monitor on the far side of the wall, illuminating the preponderance of All Might memorabilia: posters, action figures, trading cards; '_the number one hero could live a comfortable life based on my purchases alone!'_

She hesitantly approached her son, afraid to set him off. "Izuku," she croaked, "Baby, are you ok?"

Slowly, Izuku swiveled around in his chair to face his mother, fat tears pooling in his eyes and sliding down his face. He raised a trembling finger to his monitor, "All Might… is so cool, isn't he mom?"

That broke her; Inko quickly rushed over to her son, collapsing on the floor and wrapping her arms around him, sobbing just as he was.

"Mom…" Izuku whispered, his voice shaky, "can I be a cool hero like him?..."

Inko knew was she had to tell him, it was just as the doctor has said, best to keep him from chasing dreams he could never achieve. And yet…

Inko looked down at her child, the light of her life. _I can't do it_ she thought, _I can't tear him down even further than he already is. The time will come for the truth, he doesn't need that right now. Right now…_

_He needs hope. _

"Yes… yes Izuku, of course you can be a hero!" she cried, causing her son to jolt in her arms.

"Really?..." asked Izuku, seemingly surprised, "even without a Quirk?..."

'_That's not what I expected you to say…'_

"Yes Izuku, you… you can do anything you set your heart to…" Inko replied. She wasn't sure if she believed her own words, but that didn't matter, only that her son did.

"Mom…" Izuku mumbled, burying his face in her chest. She couldn't see it, but a smile had formed on his face for the first time that day.

'_Thank you, mom… Thank you for believing in me…'_

Izuku would sleep in his mothers' arms that night, disheartened, but determined to face the next day with a smile.

VVV

*BEEP*

Inko stirred in her bed, refusing the sound of her alarm.

*BEEP*

"Uhh… Five more minutes…"

*BEEP*

"Fine fine, I'm up," she conceded, hitting the alarm and rising out of bed.

'_Huh, where's Izuku? I could have sworn he slept in hear last night…'_

Inko quickly rushed to her son's room to check on him, only to see him sprawled on the floor, covered in sweat.

"Izuku!" she exclaimed, rushing over to his side, "are you ok? Izuku what happened"

Izuku got to his knees, catching his breath "Nothing mom, I was just... working out."

"What did you say Izuku?"

"I was working out!" he nearly shouted, quickly covering his mouth.

"Working out? Izuku why on Earth are you doing that, and so early in the morning?" she questioned.

"Its just… if I wanna be a hero without a Quirk, I need to start now… Everyone else is starting ahead of me… If I don't start training now, I'll never catch up!"

'_Ah,' _Inko thought, '_I should've expected this.'_

"Izuku, honey, I don't think this is the way for you to get stronger; you're far too young to be worrying about exercise and-" she was going to continue, but what cut off by her son.

"No! If I wanna be even close to someone like Kacchan or All Might, I have to work twice as hard, and I have to start now!"

Izuku quickly realized what he had done and was quick to apologize, "I'm sorry mom. I didn't mean to yell…"

'_Oh Izuku, so determined!' _

"Its ok honey, I know you're very passionate about this… How about I put something together for you? Something appropriate for someone your age?" She asked.

"Really mom?! Really really?!" he badgered, clearly excited at the prospect.

"Yes honey, really really. Now why don't you go take a shower while I make breakfast?" She pushed him towards the door, "You have a play date today mister!"

"Oh… right, ok mom," he said as he ran towards the bathroom. _'What am I gonna do with that boy,_' Inko thought as she returned to her room to prepare for the day.

She hadn't notice her son's slightly toned arms.

VVV

By the time Izuku had showered and changed, Inko had finished a simple breakfast of steamed rice and miso soup. After a quick meal, it was time to walk Izuku to the park to spend the day with Mitsuki and her son while she ran errands.

'_I bet he's excited to see his friend. He deserves a little fun after yesterday'_

Izuku, on the other hand, could not be feeling more distressed.

'_Oh no oh no oh no… what am I gonna tell Kacchan?'_

His mind drifted back a year before, when Katsuki had just gotten his Quirk.

VVV

"_Wow Kacchan, you have such a cool Quirk!" _

_Kacchan had just awoken to his power the day before, a perfect combination of his mother's Glycerin and father's Oxidizing Sweat._

_He called it Explosion, a fitting name given the crackling and sparks he could emit from his hands._

"_You're damn right I do!" Katsuki boasted; he had always been prideful, having such a flashy Quirk only made it worse._

"_Hey, Izuku, how come your Quirk hasn't shown up?" he asked aggressively. _

"_I-I don't know Kacchan, the doctor says I have the toe joint, so its only a m-matter of time, right?" Izuku stuttered._

"_You better, how the hell are we supposed to become top heroes if you don't even have a Quirk, you damn Deku!" _

_Izuku cringed. He hated when Katsuki called him Deku. Luckily, he only did it when Izuku messed up or did something stupid._

_For the most part._

"_C-c'mon Kacchan, you know I don't like it when you call me that…" _

"_Get your Quirk, and I won't have to anymore, Deku!" Katsuki yelled._

"_R-right!"_

VVV

Nowadays, Katsuki hardly called Izuku anything but Deku, his patience running dangerously thin with his "best friend." Now, with the news from the doctor, it was finally time to face the fire.

Or rather, explosions.

"Now you have fun dear, I'll be back at four, ok?"

Izuku glanced around, it seemed in his reminiscing he had completely zoned out, he wasn't prepared!

"Inko, Izuku!" Both mother and son looked up to see Mitsuki Bakugo

"Mitsuki! Its so good to see you!" Inko greeted giving her longtime friend a hug.

Mitsuki Bakugo was a fair skinned and fair-haired woman, who looked far younger than she was thanks to her Quirk. With her ash-blonde hair and piercing red eyes, many would consider her a bombshell; ironic considering her son's Quirk.

Her son, Katsuki, took after his mother in every way; same skin tone, same hair, same eyes and, though no one would say it to their face, same temper.

"Thank you so much for watching Izuku today!"

"Of course! The brat could use a good influence; if you ask me, he's getting a bit too big for his breeches" Mitsuki said, nodding towards her son and his posse.

"Oh well, I'm sure he'll grow out of it in no time!" Inko said, flush with the optimism she shared with her son, "Go on Izuku, go play."

"Ok… bye mom" Izuku said, giving his mother a quick hug and running to the other kids.

"So," Mitsuki said once he was out of earshot, "What'd the doc say?"

Inko grimaced, "Exactly what I was afraid of. No Quirk, not even a minor one."

"Oh, I'm so sorry Inko…" Mitsuki placed a hand on her friends' shoulder, "at least he seems to be taking it well?"

"Not at all," Inko corrected, "He was a mess when he found out but I… he asked me if he could still be a hero, and I said yes"

"Inko!" Mitsuki nearly screamed, "You know no school will even consider him without a Quirk, why would you tell him that?"

"I don't know I just," Inko ran her hands through her hair "I couldn't do that to him, he's only five! When he's older, and its not so fresh, I'll talk to him, but right now… he needs something to hope for."

Mitsuki sighed "I hope you know what you're doing."

Inko looked over at her son, "Yea, me too."

VVV

"Finally decided to join us, Deku?"

Izuku recoiled at his all too familiar nickname "Y-yea, here I am Kacchan, what're we gonna do?"

"Well WE'RE gonna play heroes, maybe we'll let you join in." Katsuki approached Izuku, staring down at the boy, "you get your Quirk yet, Deku?

"Um, a-about that, Kacchan, I went to see the doctor yesterday and…" Katsuki raised an eyebrow at him, "It turns out I-I don't actually have a Quirk…"

Katsuki looked at him for a good while, seeing if he was serious. When it became clear Izuku wasn't joking, he burst out in a hearty laugh.

"HAHAHA WOW, YOU REALLY ARE A USELESS DEKU, AREN'T YOU?" Katsuki yelled in between laughter, with his friends joining in. Izuku cowered into himself, uncomfortable with the insult, yet too afraid to challenge it.

"Well, a Quirkless loser like you can't play heroes, now can he? C'mon guys." They began to walk away, and it was only then Izuku found his voice; "c'mon K-Kacchan, you can't leave me here alone… please?" Izuku all but begged.

"Grrr…" Katsuki growled, angered at the pinch of sympathy Izuku's cry was able to cause. "Fine, Deku," he sneered, "you can tag along, but don't go thinking you'll be playing heroes!" He yelled, marching deeper into the park.

Izuku didn't give him a response, only meekly following behind, often watching from a distance as the others played. Eventually, the group came upon a partially broken gate, a screwed on "Do Not Enter" sign hanging high.

Katsuki gave a quick look around; his mother seemed preoccupied, and a grin grew on his face.

"Let's go extras, we're going in." No one dared to oppose him, except of course-

"Kacchan, the sign says d-do not enter…" Izuku stuttered and was quickly shut down with a small explosion to the face.

"SHUT THE HELL UP DEKU," Katsuki threatened, "You're not the hero here, I am, I say we're going in!" Katsuki turned quickly, marching through the fence.

Izuku was quick to follow.

As they marched though the gated off forest, they came to a stop at a bridge above a shallow stream. "Stop," Katsuki commanded, this is where we're playing heroes." He glared at Izuku, "Deku, I don't give a damn what you do, just don't get in our way!" he demanded.

Izuku was about to sheepishly accept, until he remembered his mother's words…

"I-I wanna play heroes too Kacchan," he said, sounding more resolute than he had all day.

'_What the hell?'_ Katsuki thought, _'No one's defied me since I got my Quirk!'_

"The hell did you just say Deku?" he commanded, approaching the boy.

Izuku was shaking like a leaf, but amazingly stood his ground, "I-I just don't see why I have to be left out, I just wanna play with you guys…" Izuku muttered.

"Oh?" Katsuki said, placing his hand on Izuku's shoulder, "you don't get it, well let me spell it out for you, stupid Deku. You. Are. QUIRKLESS. That means you're useless, too useless to ever be a hero!" he seethed, his hand gradually getting hotter.

"T-that's not true… my mom says I can still be a hero!" Izuku yelled, surprised at his own boldness.

"Oh, your mommy told you? Then I guess she's as stupid as you Deku!"

Katsuki was about to pop off a few explosions but was cut off by a sudden outburst.

"Don't say that about my mom!" Izuku shouted, giving Katsuki a hard shove away from him. Far harder than he meant it to be, than he thought he was capable of, all the way to the edge of the bridge.

"What the hell's your prob-" Katsuki began to say, only to find himself losing his footing, falling into the stream below.

"AHHHH" he screamed, not in rage, as he usually did, but in fear.

"KACCHAN" Izuku yelled, immediately scaling down into the stream. '_Please don't be hurt please…'_

When he reached Katsuki, he was relieved to see him sitting up, yelling up to his friends "Yea yea, I'm fine!" Only to look ahead and shrinking at the sight: before him was Izuku, holding out his hand, that stupid concerned look on his face.

"Kacchan! Are you ok?" Izuku questioned

"Wha-What are you doing down here, Deku?" Katsuki replied, still looking at his outstretched hand.

"I-I wanted to make sure you weren't hurt… you sounded like you needed help." Izuku said, a rare resoluteness in his voice.

'_Help… HELP?' _Katsuki blasted away Izuku's hand with the biggest explosion he could manage, knocking the boy to the water.

"K-Kacchan, what's wrong?" Izuku said, scrambling away as he marched closer.

"LISTEN CLOSE YOU STUPID, WORTHLESS DEKU!" Katsuki screamed, grabbing Izuku by his shirt collar "I WILL NEVER NEED THE HELP OF A WEAK, USELESS QUIRKLESS LOSER LIKE YOU, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

"I-I don't understand, I was just trying to he-" Izuku didn't get to finish as Katsuki let loose a full powered explosion in his face; even this young, it was nothing to scoff at.

"Just stay away from me Deku. If I see your face again, I'll blow it the hell off!" And with that, Katsuki marched off with his friends, leaving Izuku to his tears.

VVV

'_I really am a Deku_' Izuku thought as he watched the sun set. He had tried to find his way out of the forest, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember the path he took in; he was absolutely lost, so he did what his mother always told him to do if he was lost: sit tight and wait for help.

'_It's definitely past four… She's probably worried about me… Unless she realized I'm useless.'_

Izuku shook his head; '_I shouldn't be thinking like that… mom loves me, believes in me, I shouldn't doubt her.'_

As if on cue, Izuku heard rustling in the bushes nearby, "W-who's there?" he stammered, fearful of who could be hiding.

From the bushes emerged a tall man with black hair and eyes. He wore a tan overcoat and matching hat, with a white dress shirt and green tie underneath.

"Are you Izuku Midoriya?" he asked, a redundant question. How many other little boys with green hair and freckles could be wandering the woods?

"Y-yes… who are you?" Izuku questioned, keeping his distance.

"My name is Naomasa Tsukauchi" he replied, taking off his hat, "I'm with the police force. Why don't you come with me son? Your mother is very worried, y'know?"

'_What a relief,' _Izuku thought, '_I can finally get out of here!' _

"Yes sir" he said, finally standing up and walking with the man.

Naomasa decided to question the boy on the way back; "so how did you get lost?" he asked, carefully guiding him back to his mother, "weren't you with your friends out here?"

He decided not to grill the scared boy on his trespassing.

"Uh, I-its my fault, I ran off away from the group and got lost…"

'_A lie, if that mark on his face is anything to go by,' _Naomasa thought, he didn't even need his Quirk, Human Lie Detector, to be able to tell.

"Is that so?" he pressed, "Yes, sir." Izuku replied. '_Best not to force it out of him.' _

VVV

Soon enough, they reached the park proper, near empty now save for a few officers and a distraught mother.

"IZUKU!" Inko yelled, rushing to her son and wrapping him in a hug.

"M-mom…" Izuku muttered, burying himself in her arms.

Despite her happiness, Inko was equally upset. "What were you thinking going in there Izuku? You know better!"

she chastised. "I'm sorry mom…" he said, and what more could he say? He knew what he did was wrong and did it anyway. "W-where's Kacchan?"

"Oh, he and Mitsuki went home baby, it's almost seven." Inko replied, checking him over. '_Where did he get that mark on his face?'_

Izuku didn't reply, and Naomasa took that chance to insert himself into the conversation. "Right, well," he began, "I take it you know what you did was wrong, young man?"

"Yes sir, I'm very sorry," Izuku replied, giving a respectful bow."

Well as long as you don't do it again, I don't see a reason to keep you any longer. Just make sure you don't cause any more trouble, alright?" Naomasa commanded, putting on a stern face.

"Yes sir!" Izuku said, quickly taking his mother's hand, "can we go home now mom?"

"Of course, sweetie," Inko assured, turning to Naomasa, "Thank you so much for finding my son, detective."

"Just doing my job ma'am, stay safe out there" he smiled, walking over to his squad car. "C'mon honey" Inko pulled, leading her son on the short walk home.

VVV

The Midoriyas did not live extravagant lives; their apartment was modest, maintained on the income of Izuku's father, who worked overseas. It wasn't much, but it was all the two needed to be comfortable.

'_He must be starving' _Inko thought, looking to Izuku. "Baby, would you like mommy to make you some Katsudon?" she asked.

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble…" Izuku mumbled, still shaken from his time in the forest. "Of course not dear, I'll call you when its ready, ok?" she said, sending her son off to her room.

As she cooked the two's meals, she couldn't help but feel something had happened in the forest; '_Izuku isn't the type to run off on his own… and that bruise on his face doesn't look like an accident,' _she thought.

Eventually the food was complete; "Izuku!" she called, "dinner's ready!" Izuku was quick to come out for dinner, quickly sitting down and eating quietly.

'_I have to ask, even if I risk upsetting him,_' Inko thought. "Izuku," she started, looking across at her son, "what happened in the forest?"

Izuku dropped his fork and squeezed shut his eyes, holding back tears. "I-I'm sorry mom… its my fault…"

"What's your fault honey?" she pressed concerned for her baby.

"Me and Kacchan got in a fight… I pushed him and he fell in the water… he was so mad at me he left me in the forest…" Izuku recounted, still refusing to look at his mother.

Inko gasped; "Izuku, its not like you to fight, especially your friends, why would you do that?" she questioned.

"H-he said I couldn't be a hero without a Quirk, that I was stupid for thinking I could… That you were stupid for thinking I could…" He said, face downcast in shame.

'_Ah' _Inko thought, '_I understand Izuku, but…'_

"Izuku… I appreciate you sticking up for me, but I don't want you getting into fights on my behalf, alright honey? You're better than that" she assured, giving him a smile.

"But what if he's right?!" Izuku shouted, finally looking up at his mother, "What if I can't be a hero, what if I am useless?"

Inko frowned; '_Oh honey…' _She stood up, taking a spot next to her son, "Listen to me Izuku, you are not, and never will be worthless. Quirk or no, you're my son, and I know you're capable of anything!" Inko exclaimed, giving her son yet another hug.

"What if I cant do it… What if I can't be a hero?" Izuku muttered, leaning into his mother. "Remember what I told you Izuku? You can do anything you set your heart to, and I'll be here every step of the way," she reached into her pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper, "that reminds me, I believe this is yours, baby."

She handed him the piece of paper, which he hesitantly took and unfolded, eyes widening at the contents; "Is this…" he started, unable to form the words.

"I said I would, didn't I honey? You can start tomorrow." On the paper was an in-depth workout and diet plan. It was nothing intensive; 20 pushups, 30 sit-ups, a half mile jog, it was nothing extreme, but a perfect starting point for one so young.

"Y-you really did it… you really do believe in me!" Izuku exclaimed, seemingly forgetting his previous sadness.

"Of course, honey, you can always count on my support," Inko beamed, although she was conflicted on the inside. '_So much for preparing him for the truth,_' she thought.

"Thank you! I love you so much mom!" Izuku said, tackling his mother in a hug. '_But its almost worth it,'_ "I love you too Izuku," she replied, returning his hug "you can count on me!"

'_This is it,' _Izuku thought, lost in his own head, '_This is the beginning of my hero journey, this is my starting line, to being the world's greatest hero!"_

Izuku didn't know just how true that thought would turn out to be.

* * *

**Wew, a lot covered this chapter. Am I going too fast? Not enough detail? I typically only write academically, meaning I prioritize conciseness, although that might not be ideal for a more narrative project. **

**This is my first ever fanfiction, after 10 years of reading them, so I'm excited to finally dive in! **

**This story went through several iterations in my head; originally, Izuku was gonna have a powerful Quirk to go along with One for All, however I feel that would be a detriment to the overall story. Not because he would be too powerful, because he is going to be VERY damn powerful in this story, but because being born Quirkless is so integral to his character that it didn't feel right taking that away from him. So, I decided to just have him BELIEVE he is Quirkless. So yes, Izuku will have a Quirk; there are a couple minor hints as to what it is here, that I'm sure some of you will be able to sniff out. **

**This'll be a heavily Izuku focused story; there are simply too many characters to give them ALL the spotlight, so it'll mainly be him, Katsuki, Shoto, the girls, and a few of the teachers that will have focus. Not that I'll ignore the other characters of course, but they'll definitely be taking a back seat. I only say this because we spent a lot of time with Inko and her thoughts this chapter, I didn't want to give the impression that she'll be a main character here; she's certainly important in these first few chapters, but she will definitely be dropping off at some point, and that kind of treatment should be expected for a lot of the side characters; they will be important for a few chapters (such as Iida when Stain comes around) but won't be constants in the story.**

** As for pairings, I'm leaning heavily towards a harem; I'm not trying to write high art here, just a fun story, and what's more fun than a harem? **

**Well, that about covers it! Next chapter, training, strange happenings, and meeting someone new! Please review if you have the time, and I'll see you soon!**


	2. Meeting a Hero

**Chapter 2, here we go! First (minor) fight scene ahead!**

* * *

_**Meeting a Hero**_

* * *

"Izuku, honey, I think you've had enough."

It had been two weeks since Izuku received the news that, in another life, would have crushed his resolve and left him a mess. Instead, with the help of his mother, his will to be a hero was stronger than ever, and surprisingly, it was beginning to show.

Whereas just last week Izuku had an utterly average physique, not unhealthy but typical of a 5-year-old boy, he was now sporting a considerable amount of lean muscle mass, given his age.

And with that, a voracious appetite.

"Just a little more mom, I'm still hungry," Izuku said, stuffing his mouth with rice and various vegetables.

'_At this rate, he'll eat us out of the house!' _Inko thought. "Alright, honey, but just a bit! I swear you've been eating like a horse the last week."

"Sorry mom!" Izuku exclaimed, mouth full, "I don't know what's the matter, I've just been so hungry."

Inko didn't know much about nutrition, but she wasn't stupid. The bigger a person, the more they needed to eat, and Izuku was getting noticeably bulkier.

In hindsight, perhaps his rapid progress was a sign of concern. Inko knew that gaining this much muscle mass wasn't normal, that she should probably take him to see a professional but…

"_Forget it, kid, it's not happening"_

'_No. The last time I took him to the Quirk doctors, they destroyed him. Besides, it's not like there's any real harm done, right?' _She glanced over at her still eating son, '_Except to my wallet!'_

Izuku, finally satisfied, was sent to wash up and get ready for bed. As Inko finished the dishes her thoughts drifted back to her son, '_I'll take him if something goes wrong but… so far, I've never seen him this happy_.'

VVV

The next day, over breakfast, Izuku had a request that threw Inko off guard.

"Mom, can you make my exercises… harder? Or maybe more?

"Now honey, you shouldn't be doing harder exercises until you've mastered the current ones, I told you that" she answered, picking at her food.

"But that's the thing mom!" Izuku exclaimed, standing up, "I've mastered the ones you gave me; I don't even sweat when I do them anymore!"

Inko nearly choked; did she hear that right?

'_That doesn't make any sense, there's not way he's able to do all that so easily this quickly… he must be trying to push himself again.'_

"Izuku, honey, I know you want to get stronger, but you can't rush it…"

"I'm not, I promise!" Izuku blurted, stuffing more breakfast in his mouth.

'_Hm, he's not backing down; only one thing to do then'_

"Ok honey, if that's true, then you wouldn't mind me coming with you for your exercises?"

Izuku perked up; "Not at all! It'll be fun!"

'_Well that's not what I expected,' _Inko thought, '_Could he be buffing?'_

"Ok dear, go get ready and we'll head out" she said, picking up both their plates to put them away.

'_I wonder how far he'll take this… there's no way he's being serious, right?' _

VVV

After getting ready the two headed out to the park just down the road; it may have had some unpleasant memories, but it was the perfect place to do his workouts.

'_I can't wait to show mom how much progress I've made!' _Izuku thought, getting ready for his stretches; his mother put her faith in him, it's time to show her it wasn't misplaced!

Izuku jogged out into an open field and began his pre-workout stretches; basic things, like toe touches and shoulder stretches, but done with precision and ease.

'_Ah, that's better; time to show what I can do!" _

Izuku immediately broke into his half-mile jog; while his form was amateurish, he was clearly enjoying himself, a wide smile on his face as the wind whipped in the air.

'_I love this feeling' _Izuku thought, feeling his heartbeat rise and body warm; who knew exercise could be so fun!

Inko watched her son with a sense of awe; he seemed to be having little trouble so far! _'How?' _Inko thought; while Izuku hadn't been in bad shape before, he seemed to be on a whole other level already!

Izuku quickly finished his jog and broke into pushups, not even pausing to catch his breath. After completing his set, he immediately began his sit-ups, not missing a beat. His heart was pounding, but he didn't care; '_I have to show her I'm ready for more!' _

Normally, sit-ups would be the end of things, but Izuku wanted to go all out; he began another half-mile jog, even breaking into a sprint in the last few yards.

'_Amazing,' _Inko thought, walking to her son, '_It's just as he said, he didn't break a sweat…' _

"See mom? See? Its too easy now! If I'm gonna be a hero, I gotta keep pushing myself! Please please please give me a harder workout!" Izuku begged, folding his hands together.

Inko sighed; '_Well, I don't see a reason not to, he's clearly got no trouble with the current plan' _

"Alright honey, I'll do some research and make adjustments; just promise me you won't try anything new without my permission? We don't want you hurting yourself" Inko said,

"I promise I won't! Thank you, mom!" Izuku exclaimed, giving her a quick hug.

"Of course, Izuku, anything for my little hero!" she praised, earning a giggle for her son.

'_I just hope I know what I'm doing.'_

VVV

And so, a common pattern emerged over the next two years; Inko would give Izuku a new workout regime, which he would rapidly outgrow, requesting a new one. Inko would never give him a harder set unless he could prove he had mastered the previous one; she didn't want to risk hurting him in any way.

His peers had taken notice to Izuku's rapid and dramatic changes; their attitudes generally ranged from mild curiosity to accusations of having a quirk; after all, how else could a seven year old run three miles like it was nothing?

'_But that's impossible' _Izuku thought, '_I don't have a quirk.'_

The only exception would be Katsuki Bakugo; the boy could hardly afford his former best friend so much a glance, never mind a word. Though, if one looked hard enough, they could see him seething on days where Izuku got a particularly large amount of attention.

Regardless, Izuku certainly didn't have trouble standing out; he was easily in the best shape in his grade, maybe even in his school, able to outrun and overpower just about everyone physically.

Of course, everyone had something that he could never match: A Quirk. And soon, Izuku would learn just how big a difference that could make.

VVV

The day had started rather well; Izuku had just finished his afternoon run around the park and was about to head home; his mother had recently trusted him to be able to make it there and back without supervision.

'_Man, today's workout was a breeze! I'll have to talk to mom again ab-' _His thoughts were cut off by a faint noise to his right; '_What was that?' _Izuku questioned, hurrying towards the source of the noise.

As he moved closer, the sound became clearer, eventually leading Izuku to a deep alleyway around the corner.

It was dark, very dark; the sun had begun to set over the city's skyline, leaving little light to make out the situation. What Izuku could not see, however, was made up for with what he heard.

"Please… stop… I'll give you whatever you want, just please leave me alone…" a woman, short with platinum blonde hair begged.

Her attacker, a bald, pudgy man of short stature leered over her; "oh baby, the only think I want here is you… so be a good girl and stop making it difficult!"

Izuku looked on at the end of the alley in horror; _'A villain! I have to help!' _He stopped himself. _'No, no I need to GET help, there's no telling what this guy could do," _Izuku looked back at the duo, cringing slightly; '_I'll be back as soon as I can! I promise!"_

As he turned to find an adult, he heard it: "PLEASE, SOMEONE HELP ME!" the woman cried.

Time stopped. Izuku was sure the man had said something, though he didn't hear it. He didn't know exactly what came over him, only that his mind was screaming, telling him one thing: '_You wanna be a hero? Then act like it!'_

His legs were moving before he could think.

Quickly Izuku put together an impromptu plan: '_He's bigger than me, but so out of shape… I'm probably faster than him, plus I'm a small target. If I can just stay moving, I can beat him… I can be a hero!"_

As Izuku came closer, his presence became clear to the two at the end of the alley; "What the?" the man said, turning around.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Izuku screamed, winding back his fist and preparing the biggest strike he could; he lurched his fist forward and-

"GAHH!" Izuku screamed, immediately recoiling his fist from the worst pain he had ever felt; '_W-what happened?' _he thought, collapsing and looking down at his fist.

A very large hole that hadn't been there before now decorated his right hand, oozing blood. '_H-how did he…' _Izuku looked up, and for the first time, got a proper look at the perpetrator.

'_Spikes…' _He was riddled with them; there was hardly a spot on his body that wasn't covered in razor sharp spikes. _'A quirk… I should've known, I should've…' _

"Aw, look what the hell you did," the man said, looking over to the woman, "all your yellin' got a kid involved! Now I gotta deal with him!"

Izuku was frozen, both from the pain and the fear; '_He looks a lot bigger up close...' _

"Sorry 'bout this kid, can't have you runnin' off to your mommy 'bout this…"

Izuku's eyes widened, and he quickly attempted to scurry away from the man, only to have his back hit the wall. He looked up at the man, "Please, please don't do this…" he begged.

"Look kid it's not like I wanna hurt ya but she-" He turned to motion to the girl, only to find her gone. "What the- where the fuck did she go?!" He demanded, frantically looking around.

'_She must have snuck away while he was distracted with me… hopefully to get help" _Izuku hoped.

"God damnit kid, this is your fault!" the men yelled, giving Izuku a swift kick in the ribs.

Izuku could only double over in pain; the wind had been knocked out of him. "I take back what I said before, brat," the man sneered, reeling his fist back, "I'm gonna get a real kick outta killin' you!"

VVV

"Another night…"

Shota Aizawa, hero name Eraser Head, rubbed the sleep from his eyes, preparing to start his night shift. He had been taking more and more of those recently; crime had spiked in the area, most of it taking place after dark. He didn't mind all that much; it allowed him to avoid civilians, and especially press, but it was really starting to mess with his sleep schedule…

He continued on, his all black clothes soaking in what little heat the sun had left to give for the day. He liked his outfit; simple, and useful for getting the drop on villains. The only splash of color that could be found were in his gold-colored goggles and white capturing weapon.

He parted his long black hair out of his eyes; it had been quiet the last couple days; he expected tonight to be no dif-

"Please, please sir you have to help me!" He jerked his head up, quickly finding the source of the disturbance.

"What's the problem miss?" Shota asked; whatever it was, it was clearly urgent, she looked distraught.

"There's a- He's a- in the alley! There's a boy in trouble in the alley!" she blurted, pointing to the nearby alleyway.

Shota's gaze hardened; so much for a quite night. "Stay here, I'll be right back." Quickly, he secured his goggles over his eyes, dialing the special hero line to the police; whatever was lurking in the dark, they'd regret causing trouble in this city.

VVV

Izuku closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable; '_I'm sorry mom… at least I was able to save one person…"_

The punch didn't come. "What the…" he heard the man say; Izuku peeked open his eyes to see what the man was doing, only to see his fist… wrapped? In some sort of cloth?

"What the fuck is this?" the man said, trying to free his hand to no avail. His efforts were rewarded with an expert kick to the nose, one of the few places not protected by spikes.

"Ah! What the hell, who the fuck are you?!" The man demanded, recoiling from the kick.

'_Someone came… A hero?" _Izuku hoped.

"Hey, I know you… you're that eraser guy! Eraser Head!" the man said, giving a hearty chuckle, "just my luck, your quirk is useless against me!"

'_Oh no…' _Izuku lamented, _'The hero's gonna get hurt, there's no way he'll be able to get close now that he knows he's here…"_

Eraser Head didn't say anything, only shifting his position to that of a fighting stance.

"Still wanna go? Fine," the man charged, fist raised, "then take THIS!" he bellowed swinging a haymaker at the hero.

Instead of the hit landing, as he expected, Shota expertly dodged low, careful to avoid contact with the villain. This caused him to stumble forward, which Shota took full advantage of, delivering a devastating uppercut to his nose again.

"GAH! GOD DAMNIT" the villain cried, reeling from the punch; Shota wasted no time, quickly throwing his capture weapon around the villain, throwing him against the wall. And then again, for good measure.

With the villain subdued, Shota quickly attended to the boy; "Are you hurt?" he asked, inspecting the boy.

"M-my hand…" Izuku stuttered, showing the hero the injury he had received.

'_Damn' _Shota thought, '_That looks bad' _

"Doesn't look too bad kid, but we better get that looked at" he said, ripping a portion of his shirt and wrapping it around the wound.

"AH!" Izuku shrieked, not ready for the pain.

"I know, kid, but we can't let it bleed like that"

"It really hurts…" Izuku whined, cradling his right hand.

Shota looked around; the villain was out cold, and there was no telling when the police would arrive…

'_Best to get him to the hospital myself, that wound isn't getting any better."_

"I know, we're gonna get you some help kid, don't worry"

Carefully, Shota went to lift the boy off the ground, only to find him surprised at the boy's heft; '_Damn! What are they feeding this kid?' _he wondered, surprised at the heft of the child.

Aizawa quickly ran out the alleyway, instructing the woman to wait nearby for the police to show up, before sprinting off to the nearest clinic. Halfway there, Shota noticed Izuku beginning to nod off.

'_Best not to let him fall asleep until brain damage is ruled out_' Shota thought, quickly thinking of topics to keep Izuku awake.

"Hey, kid, you gotta stay awake for me, alright?" he pressed, shaking him slightly.

"Mm sorry Mr. Hero, I'm just… so tired…"

'_Crap' "_Hey, what's your name kid?"

"I-Izuku Midoriya…"

"Do you like heroes, kid?" Shota asked.

"L-love them…" he answered, eyes perking up slightly.

"Well, if you stay awake for me, I'll be sure to give you a personal signature, how's that sound?"

"I'd like that Mr. Hero"

"Aizawa, kid" It was a risk to tell him that, but Shota doubted Izuku would even remember this conversation, never mind see the hero again

"Thanks, Mr. Aizawa…"

It was hard, but Izuku managed to stay conscious, all the way up until he reached the hospital.

VVV

When Izuku awoke, the first feeling that hit him was confusion.

'_Where… am I? How'd I get here?" _

Izuku looked around, seeing an IV bag, his mother, a couple of chairs…

Wait, his mother?

"Mom?.." Izuku called, hoping to rouse her from her sleep.

Inko's eyes fluttered open at the sound of her son's voice; "Izuku?.. IZUKU!" Inko rushed to her son's bedside, "How are you feeling, are you hurt, should I get a nurse baby?" Inko rambled, clearly relieved at her son's awakening.

"No no, I feel fine mom… where are we?" Izuku asked.

"The hospital sweetheart, you passed out last night after being brought in by a hero… Izuku what happened? Were you attacked? I knew I shouldn't have let you walk out by yourself…"

"No mom… no," Izuku interrupted, "Its… it's my fault."

"W-what do you mean your fault? Its not like you were asking to be attacked, baby"

"No I… I attacked that villain… He had a Quirk… I didn't stand a chance…" Izuku admitted.

To say Inko was shocked would be an understatement. '_I know Izuku is desperate to be a hero, but to actively engage a villain…'_

It terrified her.

"Izuku Midoriya," she said, her tone vastly sterner, "What on earth were you thinking, doing something so dangerous?!"

"I-I wasn't… I heard someone cry for help and… my legs just moved on their own…" he explained, unsure of how else to describe it.

Inko wasn't sure how to react to that; without even thinking?

'_That could be dangerous trait to have, especially when he's so young…'_

Before she could respond, they heard a soft chuckle at the door; Inko whipped her head around to see a man in the doorway.

"Heh, you're just like him…" he said.

"Excuse me," Inko asked, mildly perturbed, "who are you?"

"Forgive me," he said, taking a step into the room, "I'm detective Naomasa Tsukauchi; I believe we've met before, Midoriya-san"

Just as Inko was racking her brain trying to remember, Izuku blurted "I remember you! You helped me when I was lost in the forest!"

'_Of course, how could I forget!'_

"That's right; and I thought I told you to stay out of trouble, young man?" Naomasa said, only half serious.

Izuku shrunk into himself; "I-I'm sorry sir…"

'_Hey, it's my job to chastise my son!'_

Inko cut in; "With all due respect Detective Tsukauchi, why are you here?"

"Ah," Naomasa replied, taking off his hat, "I dropped by to pick up a statement from Midoriya-kun, but I heard enough to file a report." He looked towards Izuku, "your mother is right, what you did was very dangerous; you could have been seriously hurt or killed."

Izuku looked down at his knees; '_Here it comes' _he thought. _'He's gonna tell me I can never be a hero'_

"But I understand what you mean."

Izuku looked up, surprised; "Y-you do?.."

Naomasa took a seat at the edge of the bed. "I sure do. A good friend of mine, a hero, described what you felt in the exact same way."

"Wow, really?" Izuku exclaimed, amazed he could share anything in common with an actual hero.

"Yep, and he's one of the best heroes around, so he knows what he's talking about." Naomasa flashed Izuku a grin; "For what it's worth, Midoriya-kun, I think you'll be an excellent hero one day."

The smile on Izuku's face couldn't be any wider; "You really think so Detective Tsukauchi?" Izuku asked, brimming with joy.

"I really do. But let's try to save the heroics until you're older, alright young man?"

"Yes sir, I'll do my best, I swear!" Izuku promised.

"Good." Naomasa began to leave, only to stop suddenly; "oh, before I forget," he reached into his coat, handing Izuku a card, "I was told to give that to you by Eraser Head; said he owed you."

It was a simple "Get Well Soon" card, the only noteworthy feature being Eraser Head's signature at the bottom; Izuku couldn't be happier.

"Wow! Mom look, my first real hero signature! Isn't it so cool!" he pestered, shoving the card in her face.

"Yes Izuku, very cool!" she said, her previous anger now melted; she caught Naomasa's eyes for a brief moment, mouthing a "thank you" to him.

He gave her a wink, before leaving the mother and son alone in the sun-bathed hospital room.

VVV

Izuku was released from the hospital the next day, his only injuries being to his hand and ribs. In due time, they would heal good as new.

Izuku wished to immediately return to his exercises, which was quickly shut down by Inko with a "you can work out when you're healed, or never work out again."

This left a lot of time for Izuku to think; '_Even if what the detective said is true… how am I gonna fight villains without a quirk?'_

'_Fight… without a quirk?..'_

"_Just my luck, your quirk is useless against me!"_

"That's right!" Izuku though aloud, 'Eraser Head fought that hero without using a quirk and wiped the floor with him! Too bad I didn't see his moves…'

That's when Izuku had his best idea yet; rushing over to his drawer, he pulled out his signed card and ran to his computer.

'_Alright, Eraser Head. Let's see what I can find on you…'_

* * *

**And that's a wrap! **

**This chapter is both shorter than I expected and did not cover as much as I expected; if I were to cover everything I wanted to, this chapter would've been ludicrously long, so better to cut it a bit short.**

**So, Aizawa! Who thought it'd be him we're seeing so early? Having Izuku learn how to actually fight may seem redundant; if he's gonna be powerful with One for All, what's the point, right? Well, I don't want Izuku to just be powerful, I want him to be competent, and there are few characters more competent that Shota!**

**I hoped I was able to address what I saw as one of the biggest plotholes in this story: why in the hell would Inko NOT take Izuku back to a Quirk doctor, considering he's putting on more muscle than a roided out footballer? My thinking is she's distrustful of the lot, based on her past experiences; I know this may be a bit of a stretch, but I think its reasonable enough to be acceptable. **

**I'm very concerned about action scenes in this fic, and whether I'll be able to do them any good. The one here was small, but hopefully well done? You'll have to let me know **

**Now, as is customary, the reviews!**

**speckledblight: ****I update as soon as the chapter is ready! For reference, I wrote chapter one in roughly a day, and this chapter in roughly a night, so as long as the muse speaks, it should be fairly regular!**

**OnlineOverlord15:**** Izuku will gain confidence throughout the story, rest assured he won't quite be the stuttering mess we know him as when he gets to UA, but will still have a lot of Izuku's original character**

**Axlexington:**** Of a sort ;)**

**fencer29: ****Thank you for the feedback! Yes, I have the main story beats planned out, of course everything's subject to change until it's on paper! As to your Quirk hypothesis, that's a very interesting concept, but not quite what I'm going for here :)**

**Well, that's all folks! Next chapter: The hunt for Eraser Head! Please review if you have the time, and I'll see you soon!**


	3. The Hunt for Shota Aizawa

**Chapter 3, here we go!**

* * *

_**The Hunt for Shota Aizawa**_

* * *

'_Well that was a waste of time."_

Izuku slumped in his chair, disheartened. He had spent the night furiously searching for information on the hero that had saved him, only to come up empty handed. Whereas he had been looking for a number, maybe even an address for his hero agency, he was really only able to learn three things:

'_He works nights, he hates the press, and he rarely interacts with civilians."_

Izuku collapsed into bed; '_Not exactly much to go on, and I probably won't be finding much more.'_

He hadn't even been able to find his real name, seemingly scrubbed from every public forum and page!

Even videos of Shota fighting proved rare; what little did exist was often darkly lit, shaky, and not very useful in learning anything.

Calling it quits for the day, Izuku turned off his computer and trudged to bed, deep in thought; '_I doubt there will be any useful information on the web about him… he seems careful about covering his tracks… If I want to know more, I'll have to ask him myself!' _

Izuku slept that night, determined; '_I'll find you Eraser Head, even if it kills me!'_

VVV

"Ugh! This is gonna kill me!" Izuku complained to no one in particular.

It had been a month since his run in with Shota, and he was seemingly no closer to finding him! He had convinced his mother to let him take walks around town in the afternoon as a means of staying in shape, but not without first giving him a cellphone; _"Just in case you're in any trouble!"_

In truth, he had spent nearly every day looking in every nook and cranny for Shota. Behind every corner, in every tree, on every roof; he even peeked in a few dark alleys! (Although he preferred to stay as far away from them as possible).

Izuku sighed; '_Maybe I'm wasting my time,'_ after all, reporters could hardly find him on duty, what chance did he have?

Izuku slumped; '_I should probably call It quits for the day' _he thought, pulling out his phone to let his mom know he'd be home soon.

'_Well, there's always tomorrow,' _he reasoned, breaking into a run.

VVV

'_He's doing it again'_

Shota Aizawa watched quietly from a nearby rooftop was Izuku made his way around town.

'_He's been at this for a month now,' _he thought, watching him as he sprinted home, '_then again, so have I.'_

Shota had been watching Izuku from various rooftops and dark corners for a while now; at first, he convinced himself he was just doing his job; young kid, out alone late at night, with a history of getting into trouble? It was only natural he watched.

At this point, it was hard to deny he had taken an interest in the boy, or at least what he was doing. Most would be hesitant to be out late after what he experienced, never mind a kid. But that wasn't what interested him the most; it was the fact that Shota was fairly certain the boy looking for something.

It was obvious; looking down alleys, eyeing the rooftops; given the scope and length of his search, it was unlikely he was looking for something he lost in the fight, which left two options; Izuku was hunting for treasure, or…

'_He's looking for me,' _Shota thought, '_That's no good, probably wants to gush; I gave the kid an autograph, what more does he want?!'_

Shota sighed, rubbing his eyes; _'No matter,' _he shrugged, '_if people whose job it is to find me can't do it, there's no way this kid will.'_

With that, Shota pulled at this capture weapon, _'I'm being irrational._ _I have work to do' _

And so, he jumped to a nearby rooftop, ready for yet another night shift.

VVV

A week passed without Izuku searching the town again; he was far too disheartened to face failure once more. Done with his runs for the day, Izuku was now relaxing on the couch, watching the news.

"…can be expected to experience heavy showers late into the night…"

Izuku yawned; '_the news is so boring when heroes aren't on!" _he thought, idly flipping through the channels, quickly growing uninterested.

He looked down at his hand; the bandages had just come off, and he marveled at his new scar, a reminder that he needed to find Shota as soon as he could.

"Izuku, honey, are you busy right now?" Inko asked, emerging from her room.

Izuku looked to his mother; "No, not really mom; do you need something?" he asked, eager to have something to do.

"Could you run to the store for me sweetie? We just need a couple things, I'm sure my little hero can handle it!" she explained, ruffling his hair.

"Sure mom! Just tell me what you need, I'll be right on it!" he replied, hopping off the couch.

After handing Izuku a small list, she sent him off with a "Be safe, hurry back!" making sure he took his phone with him.

Izuku ran off towards the market, thankful for an excuse to get his heart pumping again.

VVV

It didn't take long for Izuku to reach the market; it wasn't far, and he had gotten quite fast over the years, able to maintain a sprint for roughly fifteen minutes without break.

What _did _take long was actually finding what his mom wanted. Izuku had only been to the market a handful of times, with his mother doing the vast majority of the work.

'_I could call mom and ask… no,' _Izuku thought, '_I can handle this myself!' _

Although he took much longer than he intended, Izuku did manage to find everything he needed. After paying, he called his mom to let her know he was on his way.

Izuku walked out, being met with a soft breeze; '_No reason to rush, I should enjoy a walk_' Izuku thought.

Unfortunately, Izuku didn't get very far before it began raining; at first a light drizzle, it rapidly turned into a downpour.

'_Oh no, I gotta get out of this rain!' _Izuku thought, quickly running to the nearest cover, a modest apartment building.

Upon opening the door, he was greeted by a short, old man behind the counter; "Well hey there kid!" he greeted, raising from his stool, "what can I help you with?"

Izuku gave a quick bow, "I'm sorry to intrude, sir but… do you mind if I stay here until the rain stops?" Izuku asked.

The old man gave a smile; "of course, of course! Please, make yourself at home!" he exclaimed, pointing to some nearby chairs, "you can sit there and wait if you like!"

"Thank you!" Izuku said quickly, making his way to the seating and putting his bag down.

After calling his mother and letting her know of the delay, he took in his surroundings; the building seemed very rustic, with hardwood floors and various landscape paintings decorating the walls, various lamps providing a moody lighting to the whole thing.

'_How homely!_' Izuku thought, sinking into the large leather chair he had claimed.

Quickly, however, Izuku grew bored, wandering the lobby to study various objects, eventually coming to the complex's mailbox.

'_This place doesn't have a lot of tenants'_ Izuku thought, reading the various names on the wall; '_Abe, Aizawa, Sakamoto…' _Izuku stopped; '_Wait, Aizawa… Why does that sound familiar?"_

Izuku wracks his brain; _'I swear I've heard that name before… but where?"_

"Do you need help with something, kid?" the old man asked, concerned with the boys intense glaring.

'_Kid… kid! No way!'_

"_Aizawa, kid."_

'_There's no way, it has to be a coincidence… but I have to be sure."_

"Excuse me sir," Izuku said, approaching the desk, "can you tell me where Mr. Aizawa's room is?"

VVV

*BEE-*

Shota smacked his alarm, raising out of bed. 'Rain. Gonna be a quiet night.' Not even villains liked to be out in the rain; most will be cowering inside tonight.

He glanced around his apartment. It was small, consisting of one bathroom, one bedroom, a kitchen, and a small living space. The money Shota made being a hero could easily afford him a fancier place, but this was all he needed; anything more would be irrational.

Besides, this place was quiet; no one would think a pro-hero would live here, which worked just fine for him. The more privacy he had, the better; he worked best when his opponents didn't know him, or his Quirk; typically, the initial shock of not having a Quirk fire was all he needed to take down a villain.

Of course, Shota also valued his privacy; its why he had spent so much time scrubbing any mention of his name in the public sphere. Of course, he couldn't get rid of it all, but you'd have to be exceptionally skilled to find a mention of it.

Shota stood up, getting dressed for his shift. '_Hope Midoriya isn't out tonig-' _he stopped himself, _'I don't care if he's out, it's not my job to watch that kid,' _he chastised,

'_Besides, he hasn't been around in a week, he's probably given up on-"_

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

Shota perked up, "Who the hell could that be?" he asked aloud, grabbing his capture weapon and making his way towards the door.

VVV

Izuku looked up at the door before him; if he was right, Eraser head would be behind this door, and his nonstop searching could come to an end.

'_I didn't think I'd get this far… I have no idea what to say!' _Izuku panicked, '_Will he be mad that I'm here? Will he kick me back out into the lobby? Oh God, I shouldn't have come…_'

Izuku was about to slink away when he stopped; '_I'm doubting myself again; I'll never be a hero if I keep doing that, and I'll never be a hero if I don't learn how to fight… I have to do this!'_

Izuku mustered all the courage he could and gave three quick knocks on the door.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

Izuku waited, trembling in his shoes; '_I bet this isn't even the same Aizawa, I mean what are the odds a hero would liv-'_

His thoughts were halted at the sound of the door opening; before him stood Eraser Head, wide eyed, capture weapon in hand.

Izuku gave a deep bow, "Eraser Head," he said, staring at the ground, "I-I've been looking for you."

To say Shota was shocked would be an understatement; '_How the hell did a seven-year-old find my apartment?!'_

He looked down at the still bowing boy, judging how he should handle it; '_Best to remain calm for now, figure out how he found me, make sure it doesn't happen again_._'_

"How did you find me, kid?" Shota questioned, keeping an even tone.

Izuku looked up; "I-I'm sorry Eraser Head… I didn't mean to- well I did, but I didn't think I would, I mean you do such a good job of hiding yourself, I tried to find information on the internet, and there was nothing there! How did you do that? Do you have contacts in the tech wor-"?

"Midoriya." Shota interrupted, "Focus, please."

Izuku blushed, "R-right, sorry… I was taking shelter from the rain, and I was reading names of the mailboxes… I saw yours, and asked the old man where you were…"

'_I'll have to talk to Ren about telling strangers where I live' _Shota thought before pressing on; "How'd you find my name?"

"Y-you told me, remember?"

He had? '_Oh right, I did. Guess the kid wasn't as out of it as I thought.' _

"Right." Shota said, pinching the bridge of his nose, "And why have you been looking for me Midoriya? Another autograph? A photo?"

'_Here we go, what irrational request does this kid have for me?'_

"N-No!" Izuku blurted, "Its nothing like that at all!"

This surprised Shota; the rare few times he had been approached by people, especially children, that's typically all they wanted.

'_Huh… he must want to thank me for rescuing him… That's even more irrational than I thought'_

"Look kid, its very polite of you to want to thank me, but it's not necessary, it's my jo-"

"No!" Izuku interrupted, "I-I mean I am grateful, don't get me wrong, but… that's not why I looked for you."

'_What?' _Shota wondered, '_What could drive a could to look this long for me?'_

"Then, what do you want, Midoriya?" Shota asked, genuinely curious.

"I… I want to learn how to fight!" Izuku said, voice wavering.

'_To… fight? He's a kid why would he…'_

"I-I wanna be a hero… I've been working hard everyday to be the best that I can be but… its not enough, I need to be able to defend myself before I can help other people…"

'_Ah. So that's it. The kid wants to be a hero, so he came to me. He doesn't even know what he's asking. What an irrational request._"

Shota was getting increasingly impatient; "Look kid, there are a dozen dojos around here, I'm sure one of them will be willing to take you, so please le-"

"That won't be enough!" Izuku cried, finally looking up at Shota; "They aren't heroes, they can't teach me like you can!" Izuku insisted, "You beat that spike guy, without using a Quirk! I need every edge I can get if I'm gonna be a hero, a local dojo just won't cut it!"

Shota sighed; _'He's certainly persistent, still this has gone on long enough'_

"Look, Midoriya," he began, "I'm sure your Quirk is good enough to get into a hero school; you can learn to fight then," he reasoned, hoping this would put an end to this.

Izuku didn't respond immediately; '_Good, seems he finally understands, now to send him home.'_

Just he was about to send Izuku away, he finally spoke up; "I don't have a Quirk…"

Shota paused; '_No Quirk? Then why would he want…"_

"I know there's never been a Quirkless hero and… I know it's a long shot but… my mom believes in me, and I can't let her down!" Izuku yelled, tears in his eyes, growing increasingly bold; "That's why I need you to teach me; everyone else is starting so far ahead…"

He was trembling, but Izuku managed to maintain eye-contact with Shota, waiting for his answer.

He looked down at the boy; '_Wanna a be a hero without a flashy Quirk, huh kid? Reminds me of myself…' _Shota thought, despite himself.

'_No… no this isn't at all like me, I have a Quirk, a good one at that, and this kid is Quirkless… Still…' _he sized the boy up, eyeing the preponderance of lean muscle on his arms and legs; '_He wasn't lying about working hard, he's in better shape than most adults…_

_Am I really considering this?' _

"Are you serious about this, kid? I won't go easy on you because you're young; and if you can't handle it, I won't hesitate to drop you" Shota warned, seeing if he could scare Izuku off.

"I am! I can handle it, I promise!" Izuku replied, determination flashing across his face.

Shota paused again; '_I read his statement on the incident… He's impulsive, and without a Quirk, vulnerable. If he doesn't learn how to properly defend himself, he'll be dead before he can even get to high school," _he reasoned with himself, '_What kind of hero would I be if I let that happen?' _

"Fine, Midoriya. You have a deal," he stopped. '_Right, how could I forget,'_ he thought. "On one condition."

"Anything, Aizawa-sensei!" Midoriya beamed. '_I can't believe it, I'm gonna get training from a real hero!'_

"I need to talk to your mother."

VVV

To say Izuku was nervous would be an understatement.

He checked the clock; '_Four-o-clock, Aizawa-sensei will be here soon'_

Shota's request had initially come as a surprise to Izuku but made sense the more he thought about it; he was exceptionally young and going forward without Inko's permission could prove disastrous later on.

Even so, Izuku couldn't quite manage to tell her of the true reasoning to the imminent meeting, only that the hero who saved him a month ago wanted to talk.

Inko, for her part, was ecstatic; _"What a great opportunity!" _she had said; she never had the chance to thank Shota for saving her son, and was eager to make her gratitude known.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

"Oh, that must be him! Izuku, answer the door please, I'm just finishing dinner!" Inko requested, tending to her cooking.

Izuku opened the door to greet Shota. When he opened the door, he was greeted with the man in his hero outfit, likely planning to head straight to work from the Midoriya residence.

"Aizawa-sensei, please come in!" Izuku welcomed, stepping aside.

"Thank you, Midoriya," Shota greeted, stepping in.

"Eraser Head! It's such a pleasure to meet you!" Inko exclaimed, putting the last of the food on the table.

"Please," Shota started, "Aizawa is fine."

"Oh, Aizawa then!" Inko beamed, walking up to him; "I never got to thank you for saving my son-"

"That won't be necessary, Midoriya-san. There's actually something I need to talk to you about," Shota started, meaning to get straight to business.

"Oh? Well, I'm sure whatever it is can wait until after dinner? When was the last time you had a hot meal, Mr. Aizawa?"

Shota was about to protest, but took a quick glance at the table; the food did look good, and Instant Ramen was getting a bit old…

'_Well, no need for all that effort to go to waste.'_

"Of course, Midoriya-san, let's eat," Shota agreed, sitting at the table.

VVV

"And Izuku would always come in and yell "I am here!" in the cutest little voice!"

Izuku couldn't believe it; here he was, eating dinner with a real-life pro-hero, and his mom was telling stories about his All Might roleplaying!

"Mommm! Please stop!" Izuku begged, burying his head in his hands.

Shota, to his credit, didn't laugh, only cracking a rather subdued smile.

"Oh honey, its nothing to be embarrassed about" Inko turned to Shota, "He's wanted to be like All Might for as long as I can remember…"

He lost his smile; while he was having a pleasant time, this wasn't a social call; he had come with a purpose.

"That reminds me of what I wanted to talk to you about, Midoriya-san." Aizawa said, leaning over the table.

"Oh? I almost forgot about that, what is it Mr. Aizawa?" Inko inquired, settling down.

"Your son approached me yesterday; he wants me to teach him how to fight." Shota said, getting to the point, "I wanted to run it by you before starting anything."

Inko went bug-eyed, not saying anything; she looked to Izuku, who could only give a sheepish grin. After a moment, she spoke.

"Izuku," she muttered, her tone uncomfortably neutral, "please go to your room so I can talk to Mr. Aizawa.

"But mo-"

"Now, Izuku." She commanded, leaving no room for arguments. Reluctantly, he complied, retreating to his room to allow the adults to talk.

With Izuku gone, Inko turned to Shota; "My son is seven years old. Why on earth should I allow him to go anywhere near violence?" she asked, taking on a much more aggressive attitude.

"With all due respect, Midoriya-san, you don't have much choice in the matter; violence will find him." he stated, "It already has."

Inko looked away; "That was one incident-"

"An incident he willingly walked into" Shota interrupted, "And given his chosen career, it'll only get worse, and a hero won't always be around to save him"

Inko recoiled; "He can learn all that when he gets into a hero course…"

"Do you believe he'll get into ANY hero course without training? He's Quirkless, the deck is already stacked against him." Shota countered.

"I know that!"

"Then why feed into his fantasies," Shota pressed in a hushed tone, "if you're not willing to support it all the way? It's not rational."

"I AM willing to support it!" Inko exclaimed, barely above a whisper.

"Then you know he has to do this, why're you fighting it?" he questioned.

"You don't understand!" Inko shouted, quickly quieting her voice, "When I got that call from the hospital, it was the worse day of my life… I-I thought I had lost my son forever… How can I condone putting him in even more danger?"

Shota remained silent for a moment before answering; "Danger comes with the job, Midoriya-san. If you're serious your son being a hero, you can't avoid that fact; to do so would be irrational." he paused, collecting his thoughts, "But you can do your best to help him prepare for the danger."

He continued; "But if you're not willing to do that, then you need to tell him that he will never be a hero."

Inko looked down at the table, hands trembling; "Mr. Aizawa," Inko began, "Do you think my son can be a hero?"

Shota's eyes met Inko's, and he answered; "He has potential. Not a lot, but its there. It just has to be pushed into something more."

Inko grimaced; "Why… why are you fighting so hard for this?"

"I'm just arguing my point." Shota replied, "You still haven't given me an answer, if it's no then I will excuse myself and leave. The choice is yours, Midoriya-san"

Inko blinked back tears; '_He's right… I have two choices… let him train, or stop all this once and for all…" _

"Izuku!" Inko called, "come here please!"

VVV

Izuku emerged from his room petrified; there had definitely been some screaming in that conversation.

'_I should've known she wouldn't go for it' _Izuku slumped, trudging into his living area.

"Izuku… You know I love you, and will always support you…" _'Here it comes…'_

"Which is why I'm allowing you to train with Mr. Aizawa."

Both Izuku and Shota were wide-eyed; clearly neither was expecting that decision.

"R-really mom?..." Izuku croaked.

"Yes… I told you I'd support you in being a hero and I meant it; even if… even if it means letting you do things I don't like…" Inko explained, giving her son a small smile.

"Mom…" Izuku whispered, running into her arms, "I love you…"

"I love you too baby…" she turns to Shota; "Please take care of my son, Mr. Aizawa."

"I will, Midoriya-san" he assured before addressing Izuku; "Kid, I expect you at the park down the road tomorrow, three-o-clock sharp. If you're not there, you can forget about all this." Shota warned.

"Yes, sir!" Izuku replied, giving a bow.

Shota made his way towards the door; "Good, now if you'll excuse me, I have a patrol to run," he opened the door, "have a good night, you two" he said, closing the door behind him.

VVV

Shota scanned the streets below him; it had been a quiet night, no major incidents, which worked fine for him; he had work to do.

'_Probably should've come up with lessons before setting a time' _Aizawa thought, giving a deep sigh, '_I hope I can figure it out.'_

After all, what the hell did he know about teaching?

* * *

**And that's a wrap! **

**I had quite a bit of fun with this chapter; I hope how Izuku found Shota wasn't too unbelievable; it was quite a coincidence but hey, those happen.**

**Speaking of Shota, I hope he wasn't out of character here; I tried to make his arguments in favor of teaching Izuku more about logic than a personal desire to. **

**Shota and Inko's conversation was interesting; I wanted to strike a balance between Inko being concerned and supportive; I hope I struck that balance well. **

**Now then, the reviews!**

**Blackout99: ****Thank you very much!**

**NinjaFang1331: ****Thank you for the kind words!**

**That about covers it! Next chapter: Training, and a time skip! **


	4. Listen Close, Midoriya!

**Chapter 4, let's dive in!**

* * *

**Listen Close, Midoriya!**

* * *

Izuku finished his set of chin-ups, hoping off the tree branch he was using.

'_Ah. What a warmup!' _he thought, reaching for his water bottle; he had tried waiting until three for Shota, but he was just so excited! He had to burn some energy off, coming to the park immediately after school.

'_I still have a little time,' _Izuku said, grasping the branch again, '_I can probably squeeze a few more in before-'_

"Midoriya." Shota suddenly said, unimpressed; '_What is this kid doing?'_

"Aizawa-sensei!" Izuku greeted, returning to the ground, "You're early!"

Shota was, surprisingly, not wearing his hero uniform, instead opting for black sweats and a black t-shirt; '_Isn't he ever hot in those?' _he pondered. For his attire, Izuku had opted for gym shorts and a t-shirt with "Exercise" written on it.

'_Did he get bigger?' _Shota wondered, looking at the boy. It certainly looked it; his arms were swelled with lean muscle.

He shook the thought away; '_Probably imagining things; I need more sleep,' _he set down his bag, "So are you; you know it's a bad idea to wear yourself out before training, right? I told you, I'm not going easy on you."

Izuku looked confused; "Wear me out? This is nothing, Aizawa-sensei!" he beamed, taking another swig of water.

Shota raised an eyebrow at him; "Right, we'll see about that" he said, taking out a black training mat, placing down on a flat spot in the field.

"So, what're you gonna teach me first? A flying kick? A neck chop? Ooh, how about a grapple?!" Izuku badgered, letting the excitement get the better of him.

"No," Shota deadpanned, sitting on the mat, "first is rules. Now sit," he commanded, pointing to a spot across from him.

Izuku obediently did as he was told, waiting for his teacher to continue.

"One: I am your teacher. You will listen to what I have to say and do what I command without question, complaint, or interruption."

Izuku nodded; '_As if that were ever in any question!'_

"Two," Shota continued, "You will use nothing I teach to go looking for a fight; if you must defend yourself, fine, but if I hear of you playing hero again, this is over."

Izuku grimaced, which didn't go unnoticed by him; '_I know you can't help yourself; lets hope that'll make you think twice before running into dangerous situations again.'_

"A-anything else, Aizawa-sensei?" Izuku questioned, eager to begin.

"You are to tell no one about this. Not your friends, not strangers, I don't even want to see it posted online," Shota warned, "I have enough trouble keeping a low profile without you blabbing off about our arrangement; is that understood?"

"Yes sir…" he muttered; '_Not like I have many people to tell anyway.'_

And it was true; ever since his falling out with Katsuki, Izuku had become a bit of a loner, likely due to his Quirkless status. Him impressive physique shielded him from outright bullying, but that was all; he rarely spoke to his classmates.

"Good. Then we can begin."

They spent the next hour going through various stretches and exercises: crunches, mountain climbers, lunges; Shota wised to gauge exactly what kind of shape Izuku was in, and so far, he was awestruck; not only had he been keeping up, he barely broke a sweat!

'_Man, I hope all of Aizawa-sensei's training is this easy!" _Izuku thought; he had expected Shota to absolutely destroy him, but so far this was simple compared to what he normally did.

Shota, while impressed, was a bit frustrated; _'I wanted to see what his body's limits were; set exercises aren't getting me anywhere!" _Aizawa checked his watch; he only had two hours before his patrol, he needed to try a new strategy.

"Midoriya. I want you to give me as many push-ups as you can manage," he commanded, "stick to my rhythm, and don't stop until you have to"

It was simple, but Shota had to see what he was really working with.

"Yes sir!" Izuku said, getting into position and quickly moving to Shota's "ups" and "downs."

It took 15 minutes before Izuku collapsed from exhaustion; '_Man, now THAT was workout! It's been a while since I've felt this sore!' _Izuku thought.

Shota shuddered; '_178… forget adults, there are HEROES who couldn't pull that off.' _

He took another look at Izuku; '_Though, I suppose it makes sense; heroes are more and more relying on their Quirk to get the job done, neglecting their bodies…. Still, can this really be natural?'_

Shota fetched Izuku a water bottle; "Here, kid" he offered, throwing it to him. Izuku accepted, greedily chugging it.

"Midoriya, how long exactly have you been working out?" he asked.

Izuku paused; "Since I was five so… a little over two years now?"

'_Two years… That's a lot of progress, even for that length of time… I suppose if his genes were kind…' _Aizawa shook his head; he wasn't here to discern the mystery of his muscles; he was here to teach him how to defend himself.

"Alright Midoriya, I'm gonna walk you through a few simple counters and stances; watch me closely…"

Shota spent the next hour guiding Izuku through a variety of moves; he was clearly an amateur, but he managed them all with passable accuracy; refinement could come late.

Checking his watch, Shota beckoned Izuku to take a seat on the mat again; '_Forty-five minutes. I suppose it's time for theory' _

"What's next, Aizawa-sensei?" Izuku asked politely, eager to continue.

"Something a little different," Shota started, meeting his student's eyes, "being a hero is just as much in the brain as it is in the body; before a fight can be won on the field, it needs to be won in the mind, especially with your… circumstances" he explained, careful not to upset him with talk of his Quirkless status.

Izuku pondered what he said; '_That makes sense… I can know all the moves in the world, it doesn't mean anything if I don't know when to use them.'_

He flashed Shota a grin, determination in his eyes; "I'm ready, Aizawa-sensei!"

His response relieved the hero; a part of him had been expecting Izuku to fight him on this, to want to stick exclusively to fighting.

'_At least he's not completely irrational' _he thought, closing his eyes; "Alright then, let's walk through a few scenarios…"

As Shota laid out various villains, their Quirks, and the surroundings the fight was taking place in, he realized something; Izuku was one smart kid.

He knew this because he had taken many of these situations from his own work as a hero, and while it wasn't perfect, when Izuku made an incorrect judgment, he was quick to explain why, many of his student's responses had been what he had actually done, so much so that he was starting to believe he recognized them from the news.

'_Only one way to find out' _Shota thought; he had time for one more exercise and was gonna make it hard for him.

"Alright Midoriya, last one. Two villains have taken refuge in a hotel; both have emitter-type fire Quirks. One has taken a hostage, and the other has approached to engage you. How do you defeat both without harming the captive?" Shota finished, studying Izuku.

'_A hostage… This is Aizawa-sensei's first test involving a hostage, I'll have to think carefully' _Izuku thought, absorbing the information he had been given.

'_With my Quirk, this would be a simple confrontation; you can't rely on that, but there is a way to save them… What will you do Midor-'?_

He didn't have a chance to finish his sentence as Izuku spoke; "Use the fire," he started, meeting Shota's eyes, "If I can trick the villain into setting something on fire, the sprinklers will turn on, likely weakening or nullifying their Quirks; from there, they'll probably be easy to take down, not knowing how to fight without their fire… Right?" he asked.

Shota stared at Izuku, wide-eyed; _'Good job, kid. Most would have went straight for the hostage, not only endangering their lives but taking eyes off the one fighting.'_

"Correct, Midoriya. Good job." He checked his watch again, raising from the mat. "That's all we have time for. I expect you here at the same time tomorrow," he stated, packing his things.

"Yes, sir!" Izuku replied, excited at the prospect.

Just as he was about to leave, Shota remembered something; "Right… Midoriya before I go, I meant to ask, what exactly do you do for workouts?"

"Oh!" he exclaimed, reaching into his pocket, "here, this is the one I'm on right now, but I'm probably gonna ask for a new one soon; I'm not having trouble with this anymore."

Shota looked over the sheet; '_Not bad, but clearly the work of a novice,' _he looks up, "Who made this for you?" he asked.

"My mom makes them every week or two, why?"

'_Ah, that makes sense. She means well, but she's being too cautious; he can handle a lot more than this, based on what I've seen today.'_

He hands the paper back to Izuku; "Don't bother. I'll have something for you to work with tomorrow. I expect it to be done every day; you can't afford to skimp out on your training," he warned.

"Of course, Aizawa-sensei," Izuku bowed.

"Good. Now get home. It's late, and you don't need to be out in the dark."

VVV

With Izuku gone and Shota now in his hero uniform, he began his patrol, hopping from rooftop tp rooftop Inevitably, his mind drifted to the days lesson.

'_He's much stronger than I expected… Smart, too. Maybe he has more potential than I thought.'_

Despite himself, Shota grew excited, a wild grin shaping on his face; '_I could get used to this teaching thing. Maybe I sho-'_

His thoughts were interrupted by a yell down below; a mugging. Shota adjusted his goggles and jumped to the scene; his planning could wait; he had a job to do.

VVV

And so, a comfortable pattern would emerge over the next two years.

Shota and Izuku would continue to meet at the park five days a week, each lesson growing more and more complex; what had started as simple stances quickly evolved into complex kicks, punches, counters, and feints. He also made sure to dedicate ample time to training his student's already impressive battle analysis skills; he understood that, if Izuku was to become a hero, this would arguably be his greatest weapon. So much so, that he had Izuku begin analyzing the Quirks and tactics of popular heroes; not that he minded, he already unconsciously did so when he watched heroes fight, now he would just have to put the thoughts on paper.

Shota quickly realized that spending their time together on exercise was a waste; as long as Izuku continued to do the workouts he was assigned in his off time; his fitness would improve. He would do periodic checks, to make sure it WAS being done, though he suspected even that wasn't necessary. This allowed him to make much faster progress than he had thought.

Izuku, for his part, was grateful for the new challenges; '_I hadn't realized how easy mom's workouts were until now!' _he had thought; whereas before he would only stick with a plan for two weeks at most, it would often take a month before he needed Shota to draft a new regime. He appreciated his mother's efforts, no doubt, but he was grateful to have a teacher who would really push his limits.

Likewise, Shota was glad to have a pupil as dedicated as him; he followed every rule, worked hard, and was exceptionally talented. He had even started visiting Izuku at his home; he told himself that this was to keep his mother updated on his progress and any changes she should be aware of, but he couldn't deny that he was growing fond of his student.

They maintained a good relationship, however the did hit a small snag when Izuku was eight…

VVV

_Shota sat down at the table Inko across from him and Izuku in between; normally, he would be here for dinner before his shift started, but this was no social call; Inko had requested he speak to him._

"_Thank you for coming, Mr. Aizawa," she said, hands folded on the table, "I'm sorry for giving you such short notice." _

"_Its quite alright, Midoriya-san; what is this about?" Shota inquired; he doubted she would have requested him if it wasn't important._

"_Izuku, do you want to tell Mr. Aizawa, or should I?" _

"_I-I'm sorry Aizawa-sensei…" Izuku muttered, looking down at his lap. _

'_What happened? Did he start a fight? I warned him…' Shota thought, a ping of disappointment forming; if he had, he'd have to stop teaching…_

_Izuku handed him a piece of paper; "I didn't mean to…" he said, refusing to meet his eyes. _

_Shota looked at the paper; it wasn't a disciplinary notice, but a report card. 'Why's he giving me this?'_

_He didn't understand until his eyes scanned the page, specifically his grades; while he wasn't failing, he wasn't doing particularly well either._

_He looked up to Inko; "How long has this been going on?" he asked, keeping his tone neutral._

"_He's been fluctuating for a while now but… this is the first time he's dropped below a B average… I thought maybe you could lighten up until he gets back on track?" Inko explained, eyeing her son. _

_Shota looked to Izuku; 'How do I handle this… I didn't SAY he had to keep his grades up… Still, he should know better.'_

"_Midoriya, I'm disappointed," he started, "Not only should school be your top priority right now, but there's no way you'll get into a hero school without top notch grades." _

_Izuku looked up at him; "I know…" he admitted, "I just got so caught up in my training… Are you gonna stop teaching me now, Aizawa-sensei?"_

_Shota thought for a moment before replying; "Yes," Izuku slumped, "Until you get your grades up, our training is off."_

_Izuku perked up; "R-really? Thank you, Aizawa-sensei!" _

_Shota stood; "Don't thank me yet," he said, "You still have to do it." He turned to Inko; "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Midoriya-san" _

_Inko smiled; "Of course, Mr. Aizawa, thank you for being so understanding." In truth, she had been expecting him to drop her son; she was ready to plead with him if that was the case._

_Shota made for the door, "Call me when his grades have improved, and we can continue training; have a nice day, you two," and with that he was gone_

VVV

It was another month before Izuku could return to training, with the added rule of "If your grades slip again, I won't be taking you back."

Needless to say, he stayed at the top of his class from then onward.

Shota had been impressed with Izuku's progress, both in body and technique. While he was certainly no pro, he could probably hold his own against some low level thugs; that is, if they even tried to hurt him; the kid was sporting a full on six-pack now, and while he was still short, standing at 4'6", he was still taller than most of his peers.

What truly left him in awe, however, was Izuku's analytical skills. In total, he had filled six notebooks, complete with sketches, strengths, weaknesses, and tactics for a wide variety of pro-heroes; having read them, he had no trouble admitting that they were far better than anything he could come up with.

Now, however Izuku was nine, and it was time to take his training to the next level.

VVV

"YOU WANT ME TO WHAT?!" Izuku screamed, drawing the attention of nearby parkgoers.

Shota cringed; _'That doesn't sound suspicious at all…'_

"I want you to fight me," he answered, getting into position.

Izuku was terrified; '_Fight him?! Is he insane! I'm not ready for that!'_

"Aizawa-sensei, I-I don't think I'm ready for that, maybe we should go over more fundamentals before we start fighting?" he asked, hoping to persuade him to postpone.

Shota sighed, "Maybe I should have been clearer. Midoriya," he commanded, suddenly rushing him, "Fight me!"

He was closing the distance fast; _'Oh no! Gotta make some distance, give myself time to th-'_

Izuku didn't have time to continue, interrupted by a quick jab by Shota; he managed to dodge, side stepping to his left; '_Wow, he's really serious about this!' _

Shota quickly followed up with a leg sweep, which Izuku avoid with a quick jump, then a backstep.

But he wasn't letting up;" You can't win a fight by dodging, Midoriya, counter!" he commanded, starting a right jab.

Izuku attempted to do so, only to find Shota's left fist connecting with his ribs; _'A feint!' _Izuku realized, reeling from the blow.

"C'mon, Midoriya, I taught you how to recognize a feint, focus!"

Izuku's brain was on overdrive; without thinking, he threw a punch, only to have it deflected, receiving a kick to the stomach as a reward, stumbling back into a nearby tree.

Quickly, Izuku recovered, planting himself in a defensive stance Shota had taught him; Shota began rapidly throwing punches his way, though he was able to block most of them. Izuku attempted to land some of his own hits, only to have them blocked or deflected.

He tried looking for openings, but found none; _'It's no use, he's too good; if I want an opening, I'll have to make one!'_

Izuku knew that, in terms of pure physical strength, he outperformed Shota, if barely; his fighting style was based around fast strikes and dexterity, rather than brute force; '_I can use that to my advantage!'_

When Shota threw his next punch, rather than blocking or dodging, Izuku _grappled _his arm with all the force he could muster. This clearly shocked him, and that was all Izuku needed.

He reeled his fist back, unleashing a full force punch up to Shota's jaw; the force knocked him to the ground; _'Yes! I got him! I really got hi-'_

Izuku didn't get much more time to celebrate, as Shota swiftly performed a leg sweep from the ground, knocking him to his feet. Shota quickly put him into a hold, immobilizing him. Try as he might, Izuku couldn't break free; "Y-you got me Aizawa-sensei, I give."

Shota let Izuku go; "Your movements are stiff, you don't flow between your attacks well, and you spend far too much time on the defensive; when you _did _manage to counterattack, you didn't capitalize fast enough, allowing me to end the fight." Izuku slumped; had he don't _that _bad?

"But," Shota continued "Your defense is fairly solid, and when you _did _counter-attack, you were effective," Shota rubbed his jaw, _'That punch hurt like a bitch!'_

Izuku perked up; "You really think so, Aizawa-sensei?"

"Yes. Overall, you did much better than I expected you too"

"Wait," Izuku paused, "You expected to me lose?"

"Of course," Shota answered, packing up his mat, "Did you expect to win?"

"Well no but… Why did we do this then?" he asked.

Shota looked at him: "I needed you to understand that there's a difference between practice and the real thing; knowing the moves, when to use them, its not the same as _doing_ it in the middle of a fight, and I can't teach that; it's something you learn through experience."

Izuku looked down at his scarred fist; "That makes sense; thank you, Aizawa-sensei, for teaching me!"

"Besides," Shota said, beginning to walk away, "you'll be trying again tomorrow!"

"Wait, what?!" Izuku called, following close behind.

Neither saw the piercing red eyes glaring at them from across the park

VVV

After that day, Izuku and Shota would set aside an hour of their training time to sparring, and while Izuku would never win these fights, he was getting closer every day; while Shota doubted it would happen anytime soon, he didn't doubt that it _would_ happen.

Shota made his way to the park; he was early, but he didn't doubt that Izuku had already arrived, probably training or writing in his journal.

When he arrived, he found he was only half right; while Izuku was there, rather than enjoying himself, he seemed to be talking to someone, someone he hadn't seen before, and he didn't look particularly friendly.

Shota had known Izuku for a long time; he generally kept to himself, so seeing him with another boy with ash-blonde hair sent alarms off in his head.

When he started popping off explosions, he started running.

"Spill, Deku! Who's that creep you're out here with all the time!"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about Kacchan!" Izuku stuttered; he had gotten good at stopping that over the years, but Katsuki had a way of coaxing it out of him.

Honestly, Izuku wasn't sure _why _Katsuki had approached him; they hadn't spoken in years. A part of him hoped that he was there to make amends, to maybe be friends again; despite everything, Izuku didn't have Katsuki; in a way, he looked up to him.

"Fine! Don't wanna tell me? Then I'll BLOW IT out of you!" Katsuki screamed, charging an explosion…

Only for it to die in his hand; "What the hell…"

"I suggest you run home, boy," Shota threatened, eyes glowing red.

"You! What the fuck did you do to my Quirk!" Katsuki demanded.

"Perhaps you didn't hear me," he sneered, stepping closer, "Go. Home."

"Gah… This isn't over, Deku!" he yelled, running off.

Shota rubbed his eyes; '_Damn dry eye,' _he thought, bringing his attention to Izuku.

"Thank you, Aizawa-sensei," Izuku bowed, grateful.

"Why didn't you fight back?" Shota asked, a slight edge in his tone, "we both know you could've handled him yourself."

Izuku gulped, "You said not to start fights-" he was interrupted; "You weren't starting that, so try again. Why didn't you fight back?"

"It's… a long story, Aizawa-sensei."

Shota sat, "We have time before your training," he assured.

Izuku told him he and Katsuki's long history; how they met and became childhood friends, how he changed when he Quirk appeared, how he treated him when his _didn't _appear, and their ultimate falling out.

"I guess…" Izuku started, looking to Shota, "A part of me still wants to be his friend, and another part is still… scared of him…"

Shota nodded; with a history like that, it was understandable his feelings were conflicted; still, this was a chance to teach a valuable lesson.

"Look, Midoriya, I understand your… complex relationship. But you can't be afraid of defending yourself from that kind of abuse; if you can't defend yourself, then you can't be trusted to defend other people," Aizawa said, glancing at Izuku.

He nodded; "I know, Aizawa-sensei; I'll try to do better next time!" Izuku declared, determined.

"Good. Now Let's begin for the day."

VVV

Izuku and Shota continued to train for the next three years, and he had made significant progress. He was lucky in a way; he hadn't encountered Katsuki again in that time; while he had promised to be firmer, he was unsure if he could make good on that goal.

Izuku now stood at a healthy 5'6", with broader shoulders and more muscle. He remained the top of his class, spending anytime he wasn't training studying; if it weren't for his Quirkless status, he'd be the envy of his school.

(Even with that, he was noticing more and more attention from the opposite sex…)

His training was going exceptionally well; while he still hadn't beat Shota in a fight, he was getting dangerously close; he could easily be considered an expert when it came to hand-to-hand, both offensively and defensively.

His analytics had gotten better as well, having filled an additional four journals with his observations and tactics; Shota reckoned that, should the hero thing not pan out, Izuku could easily find work supporting analyzing heroes; finding where they can improve, and how.

Izuku was 12 now; there wasn't anything more for Shota to teach him, all that was left was for Izuku to best him in a spar; once that happened, he could consider his training complete.

VVV

"GAH!" Izuku grunted, quickly recovering from the kick he had just received. This was their longest fight yet, going on for nearly ten minutes, and neither was giving ground.

Shota reeled his left fist back, going for a jab; _'A feint!' _Izuku recognized, quickly dodging left, causing Aizawa to stumble; _'Now to counter!'_

Izuku drove his fist into Shota's stomach, causing him to lurch forward; Izuku took advantage, grabbing Shota's right arm and performing a textbook shoulder throw, slamming him to the ground.

With Shota on the ground, right arm locked in Izuku's grip, he was forced to admit defeat; he had finally done it.

Izuku helped him up; upon doing so, Shota gave a bow; "Congratulations, Midoriya; that was a hard-fought victory."

"Thank you, Aizawa-sensei," Izuku bowed back.

"Sit down. We need to talk."

Izuku obeyed, sitting on the mat with his teacher; "You're done teaching me?" Izuku asked.

Shota looked at his student of five years; "How'd you know?"

"You haven't taught me anything new in months, I figured you were just waiting until I finally beat you," Izuku explained, looking to the setting sun.

It was true; Shota had long run out of lessons to teach, instead resorting to physical training and repeats of previous sessions.

"Yea. It's time for me to move on; this city isn't nearly as dangerous as it used to be."

"Yea," Izuku laughed, "thanks for that," he paused; "Thank you for everything…"

Shota stood up, bringing Izuku with him, "listen close Midoriya, because I'm only gonna say this once."

Izuku nodded, urging him to continue.

"You have the makings of a fantastic hero," Shota started, meeting Izuku's eyes, "I could not be more proud to be your teacher, Izuku."

Izuku's breath hitched; he never called him by his given name, only "Midoriya" or "Kid."

He was blinking back tears now; "T-Thank you, Aizawa-sensei!" Izuku croaked; Damnit, he thought he had stopped crying so much!

"Yea, don't get used to it, kid."

'_And he's back,' _Izuku deadpanned.

"And it's just Aizawa now, y'know"

"Right."

They stayed there a while, before it was time to bid each other goodbye. Not much was said; Shota was all out of heartfelt emotion for the day.

Besides, he had a feeling they'd be seeing each other again.

Near the end of his last nightshift in the Shizuoka Prefecture, his mind drifted to the future; what was next for Eraser Head?

'_Well,' _he thought, giving Izuku's apartment building a final glance, '_I could always take UA up on their offer.'_

* * *

**And that's a wrap! Longest chapter yet (just barely)!**

**I debated how long I wanted to spend training Izuku with Aizawa; not time wise, chapter wise. I concluded that I didn't need to go into the day-by-day; I covered the important stuff, your imagination can fill in the blanks.**

**And what a heartfelt ending! Yep, in this universe, Izuku inspired Shota to teach, how sweet!**

**Don't worry, we'll be seeing more of him soon enough. **

**Now, onto reviews!**

**dragonnightmare: Thank you! I noticed that too, I was concerned but it seems to have resolved itself, so no harm done!**

**MIKE202303: Thank you!**

**Speckledblight: Thank you! I'll try to respond to all my reviews, but if this story gets big, I don't think it'll be possible. Being my first reviewer, you may get top billing :)**

**That about covers it, but can I just say: Wow guys, 50 followers already! I'm honored so many of you are interested in my story! Be sure to Favorite, Follow, and Review! Each one motivates me to write that much faster! (I know, 4 chapters in 3 days, how much faster could I get?!) **

**Next chapter: A long overdue confrontation, and conversation! **


	5. Katsuki Bakugo: Origin

**Chapter 5, this one's important!**

* * *

**Katsuki Bakugo: Origin**

* * *

Katsuki Bakugo was furious.

This wasn't particularly shocking; he was often angry, whether it be at his teachers, or his parents, or his so called "friends." But this was different.

This was Deku.

"How dare that nerd deny me! ME!" he ranted, stomping home from the park.

He had been following for a while now, watching him and this creepy looking guy fight at the same time, every day. It was pissing him off!

'_What the hell is he doing, learning to fight? Doesn't he know he's Quirkless? Bottom of the fucking barrel?' _

At first, he tried to ignore it; '_What Deku does ain't my fucking concern; he wants to waste his time frolicking in the park, be my guest.'_

Eventually, curiosity got the better of him, and he confronted his former friend, demanding answers; he was denied, promptly shooed away by whoever Izuku was spending time with.

'_Where the fuck does he get off, denying me? Doesn't he know who I am? Who he is?" _

The way Katsuki saw it, there were two types of people in the world; the weak, and the strong; the haves, and the have nots; the deserving, and the undeserving.

Those with powerful Quirks, and those without them.

He knew his place in the world. Knew Deku's too.

Izuku was an enigma; he didn't just have a weak Quirk, he was _Quirkless,_ an entirely different monster in his world view. To be Quirkless was to be useless, subhuman, not even worth the air you breathed; they could never hope to be a match for those with Quirks, so they didn't even try.

Except Deku

'_Damn nerd is getting uppity again, like he has been for years, like he had been in the for-' _

He stopped himself; '_No. I'm not going there again.'_

It pissed him off to no end, seeing Izuku get stronger, taller, faster… what was the point of it all? He would never have a Quirk; he was living a fantasy.

What angered him off even more was all the people giving him attention, feeding into his illusions; that attention was supposed to go to him, damnit! He was the one with the amazing Quirk. He was the one deserving of all the attention!

He was the one who was gonna be a top hero! Not that freak!

Katsuki arrived home and shut himself in his room, ignoring the cries of "brat" from his mother. Taking a deep breath, he laid down on his bed; what was he worrying about?

'_Those with weak Quirks are insects beneath my boot, but Deku? He's a pebble on the side of the road,' _he reasoned, _'not worth the time to crush.'_

He chalked up what happened today as a moment of weakness; one that would never happen again.

That's what he told himself. Whether he believed it or not was a different story.

VVV

Katsuki managed to delude himself that Deku wasn't worth his time, so he went back to what he had been doing before confronting him in the park; ignoring him.

This was easier said than done; more often than not the one thought that would run through Katsuki's head would be '_I wish I could just blow that smug smirk right of his damn face!" _

Izuku rarely smirked; if he did, it wouldn't be at Katsuki.

Despite that, he did it; for the next three years after the park incident, he once again treated Izuku as if he hadn't existed; some days were easier than others.

This was not one of those days.

It started off with a minor annoyance; Izuku had stood to give a presentation.

'_Damn nerd. When did he get so tall!'_

Katsuki hated the fact that he needed to look _up _at Izuku to get a good look at him; since when do heroes have to look up at the Quirkless?!

What's worse, he was speaking with such confidence! What happened to his stutter? His trembling?

'_Must've grew a spine because he's put on a few pounds…' _Even Katsuki had to admit, Izuku was in impeccable shape, better than he was.

'_Not that it means shit. Muscles ain't gonna save you from an explosion!' _he argued.

Of course, it couldn't stop there; not only did he receive a standing ovation, he was getting congratulated from his peers!

"That was such a good presentation, Midoriya!" one his classmates, Kojiro Takahashi told him.

Kojiro was a small boy, standing at 4'11" and of normal weight. His Quirk, Head Swivel, was self-explanatory; he could spin his head three-hundred-and-sixty-five degrees, a novelty Quirk at best. Despite that, he had that same sickening optimism Izuku enjoyed.

It infuriated Katsuki.

"Thank you, Takahashi! Yours was great too! I had no idea there was so much trash in the…" Katsuki tuned them out at that point.

He gritted his teeth; '_Where did those two get off being so damn happy! It's like they don't even know their circumstances!' _he ranted in his head.

He glared at the two, contempt in his eyes; '_Deku might not be worth my time, but owl boy… I can put him in his place!' _

The thought calmed Katsuki considerably; '_Yea, I'll remind him just how useless his Quirk is, how worthless he is!' _

With a wicked grin, he patiently waited for the school day to end; when it did, there would be hell to pay!

VVV

Kojiro walked the courtyard of Aldera Junior High; the day had just ended, and he wanted to enjoy some alone time before heading home.

"Man, what a nice day…" he said aloud, and it was; he had gotten high marks on his presentation, had avoided he normal tormenters, and even had a pleasant conversation with Izuku Midoriya.

Kojiro knew what Izuku was, and he knew how people treated him, but he didn't care much; they treated him the same way, so why should he? Izuku was one of the few people who was civil with him.

Kojiro glanced at his watch; he had been out here for nearly a half hour! _'Time to head home.'_

"Hey, owl boy!"

Kojiro cringed; there was only one person who called him that, and it was someone he did _not _want to see right now.

He turned around; "H-hey Bakugo… Shouldn't you be heading home about now?"

Katsuki glared at him; "You trying to tell me what to do, loser?"

"N-no, of course not!" Kojiro stuttered.

"Good," Katsuki began approaching him, "Couldn't help but notice, you were getting a little chummy with Deku."

'_Deku? Wh- Oh, right, that's what he calls Midoriya.'_

"I-I was just being polite, really Bakugo," he explained.

"Yea well," Katsuki inched closer, "you should know better than to be 'polite' with a Quirkless nobody like him!"

Kojiro tried to run, but it was no use; Katsuki was much faster than him.

Katsuki held him by his shirt collar, fist raised, "I think it's time someone taught you your place!"

Kojiro closed his eyes, panicking; "S-Someone? HELP ME!"

VVV

Izuku walked his way home, contemplating the day; _'Man, everyone's presentations were so good, especially Takahashi's!'_

Takahashi was one the few people who didn't ignore or were outright hostile to Izuku; while he didn't spend enough time with him (or anyone else, for that matter) to call him a friend, he held him in higher regard than he did most people.

His thoughts continued; '_Even Kacchan's presentation was interesting, even if he couldn't stop glaring at me.'_

Katsuki didn't know, but Izuku was well aware of all the dirty looks he got from him on a near daily basis; '_It's like he's not even trying to hide it!' _he thought, '_It's always so obvious!'_

Ever since he demanded to know what he was doing in the park with Shota, Izuku had been expecting a confrontation every day, only for it to not happen; '_Had he forgotten?' _Izuku asked himself, '_No. That's not like Kacchan."_

Izuku shook his head; '_I can't be worried about what other people are doing; I need to focus if I'm gonna get into UA!'_

It had taken a lot of thinking to decide on which high school he wanted to go to; there were so many options, all of them good, but none like UA. Being the school that Beat Jeanist, Endeavor, and even All Might attended? It was a no brainer!

Of course, he also knew it wouldn't be easy; no Quirkless student had ever been accepted into a hero program, and even UA only recently began accepting applications from said individuals.

'_Probably just a PR stunt but… I'd never forgive myself if I didn't try!"_

Izuku reached into his pocket for his phone, only to find nothing there; '_What the?' _he quickly checked his other pockets, '_Oh no, I must've dropped it back at school!'_

Quickly, he spun on his heel and made a dash back to Aldera; '_hopefully no one grabbed it!'_

VVV

It wasn't long until Izuku made it back to school; he had left his phone on his desk, how silly!

'_Luckily no one took it,' _Izuku thought; he certainly wouldn't put it past some people.

As he left, he decided to take a shortcut through the courtyard; '_I'm running behind because of this detour, I'll have to hurry home!'_

Just as he was about to exit the courtyard, he caught something in the corner of his eye; turning his head, he saw two people talking.

'_Takahashi? Kacchan? Those two don't normally talk…' _Izuku thought, unconsciously moving towards the two.

He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could see Kojiro trembling; '_This can't be good… I better get a teacher over here, and fast!'_

Izuku turned to leave, only to be stopped dead by a sudden shout; "HELP ME!"

His eyes went wide, and for a moment, he hesitated; last time he heard that, he was nearly killed, he can't fight, he can't…

'_NO! This isn't like then, I'm different, better! I can do this!'_

Katsuki had been tormenting people long enough.

He dashed as fast as he could towards them.

VVV

Katsuki growled; "Cry all you want, ain't no one here to help you, owl bo-"

He never got the chance to finish his taunting, as he felt firm hands grab him by the shoulders and throw him to the side, hitting the ground.

"WHAT THE HELL, WHO-" he looked up, blood boiling, "DEKU!"

"Run, Takahashi! Get out of here!"

Kojiro didn't need to be told twice, quickly scampering away from the two.

Katsuki had risen from the ground, "What the fuck do you think you're doing, Deku?!" he demanded, fists clenched.

"I'm stopping you, Kacchan; this isn't right!" Izuku stated, "Bullying people, beating them up… That isn't what a hero would do!"

Katsuki felt the heat rising in his palms; "What the FUCK do YOU, a Quirkless NOBODY, know about being a hero?!" he questioned, glaring at him.

Izuku met his glare; in another time, he would be a trembling, stuttering mess under the intensity of Katsuki's eyes, but not now; he stood, resolute, and spoke; "Clearly more than you."

That did it.

"AHHH!" Katsuki raged, charging Izuku; explosions were already popping from his palms.

Izuku prepared himself; '_Kacchan's furious… he won't be thinking straight, but he'll be tenacious; I'll have to be careful.'_

'_Let's see how you handles THIS, Deku!" _Katsuki thought, winding up a right hook.

Izuku saw it from a mile away; '_Can he really be so obvious with his moves?' _he thought; as Katsuki threw his punch, Izuku dodged, grappling his right arm, and performing a shoulder throw.

'_Just like Aizawa taught me!' _

'_What? Did he predict my move before I did it?'_

Katsuki recovered quickly; _'Alright, Deku, you wanna fight, I'LL FIGHT!" _

He rushed again, charging an explosion in his hand; _'So he's gonna use his Quirk? I can handle this!'_

Katsuki outstretched his palm towards Izuku's face; he was ready, skillfully directing his hand to the side.

What Izuku was not ready for, however, was the ear-bleedingly loud explosion in his ear.

"AH!" he yelled, bringing his hand to his ear; '_That was louder than I thought it would be!'_

'_He's stunned! Time to strike!' _Katsuki let rip an explosion into Izuku's chest, knocking him to the ground.

"HA! How did that feel, Deku?" he taunted.

'_Damn, his Quirk really is strong!' _Izuku thought, quickly getting to his feet, _'I need to go on the offensive!'_

Izuku lunged forward quickly; _'No time to dodge, gotta block!' _Katsuki thought, raising his arms.

Instead of the expected punch, Izuku delivered a kick to his stomach; '_Damnit, he tricked me!' _

Izuku went to capitalize, only to be stopped by a wild explosion; '_That was a desperate move, that means I'm beating him!'_

Izuku had intervened to save someone, but if he was honest with himself, he was enjoying this; Katsuki had frustrated him for years now, it was time to let him know.

'_Fucking Deku… when did he get so strong!'_ Katsuki thought, _'I'll have to go all out!'_

Katsuki charged again, palms pointed downward. _'What is he doing?' _Izuku wondered, entering a stance; '_Whatever it is, I'll be ready for it!' _

Suddenly, Katsuki let out an explosion from both his hands, launching himself into the air; '_I only just learned this move, but he won't be predicting this!'_

To his credit, he was right; _'That's impressive, what a unique way to utilize his Quirk!'_ Izuku , he made an observation, '_he lacks control in the air; he must have just learned this move, which means…' _

Katsuki prepared to bring his fist down; '_I've got you now, Deku!'_

Rather than dodge or block, Izuku quickly performed a high kick; '_Wait, NO!' _Katsuki panicked as Izuku's foot met his chin.

'…_that he doesn't know how to defend himself midair yet!'_

Katsuki collapsed to the ground; Izuku, wasting no time, quickly put him in a hold, ensuring both palms were faced away from him.

Try as he might, Katsuki could not break free; '_No… how is this possible… how did he…'_

"What on Earth do you two think you're doing!"

Izuku quickly got off of Katsuki, and both looked to see their teacher there, Kojiro behind her.

"Both of you, get to the principal's office, NOW!

VVV

When all was said and done, both were suspended from school; Izuku three days and Katsuki, due to testimony from Kojiro, five days. Both were also required to write a written apology to one another.

When Izuku returned home, he was met by a frantic Inko; "Izuku Midoriya, where have you been! I've been calling you for the last hour!"

Izuku cringed and checked his phone; indeed, his mother had called him over thirty times before he got home.

"I'm sorry mom," he apologized, "I got… caught up in something."

Inko sighed; she couldn't stay mad at her son, no matter how hard she wished she could!

"It's alright baby… how was school today?"

Izuku laughed nervously; "Yea, about that…" he reached into his bag, handing her a piece of paper.

Inko took the paper, eyeing it suspiciously; her eyes went wide; "A suspension?! For fighting?! Izuku Midoriya what happened? You're better than this!"

"I had to!" Izuku retorted, "Kacchan was cornering a student, if I hadn't stepped in, he would've been hurt!"

"But did you have to FIGHT him? C'mon Izuku, what would Aizawa think?"

Izuku began to argue, but paused; DID he have to fight? He was much faster than Katsuki, he could have easily ran when Kojiro got away.

Izuku looked down; '_Mom's right… that fight only happened because I wanted it to… _

_Aizawa would be so disappointed.'_

"You're right mom," he gave a bow, "I'm sorry…"

Inko looked at her son; "Well you better be; you won't be leaving this apartment during your suspension," she cautioned.

"I understand…" he relented.

Inko approached her son, giving him a hug; "I'm glad you're ok, Izuku…"

He returned her affection; "You're not mad?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm very mad," she corrected, "But you're my son, and I love you. You made a mistake, even if it was for the right reasons. I expect you to do better next time," she warned.

Izuku nodded, "Yes, ma'am!"

"Good," Inko smiled, "Now sit down, dinner's almost ready!"

VVV

It was now the last day of Izuku's suspension, and he was getting stir crazy; being cooped in this long made him realize just how much time he spent outside.

'_At least it'll all be over tomorrow,' _Izuku thought, _'That reminds me… I have to write Kacchan's apology letter.'_

Izuku had been putting it off; _'What am I supposed to write, sorry I was born Quirkless and that infuriates you for some reason?' _

Izuku sighed; if the worst comes to the worst, he can throw together something satisfactory, no matter how untrue.

"Excuse me mom, can I go to my room?" he asked, just finishing dinner.

"Just put your dishes in the sink for me dear," Inko requested, which he did.

After retreating to his room, Izuku sat at his desk, pen in hand. '_Alright,'_ he thought, '_time to get to work.'_

VVV

Inko had just finished the dishes when she heard a knock at the door; '_who could that be? It's a little late for visitors…' _

She went to answer the door, only for the sight before her to send her into shock.

At her door was Katsuki Bakugo; she hadn't seen the boy in years, even missing him when she spent time with Mitsuki.

"Katsuki… its been so long." Inko greeted; she was acutely aware that he was who Izuku fought with and was on edge because of that.

"Hi, Mrs. Midoriya…" he started, hands in his pockets.

'_Is he nervous' _Inko thought.

"Is De-" he stopped himself, "Is… Izuku here?"

'_Why did it sound like that was hard for him?'_

"Yes, he's in his room… Can I ask why you're here, Katsuki?" Inko was sure Mitsuki would have called her if she sent him…

"Can…" his shoulders slumped, "Can I talk to him?"

Inko stared at the boy; she was well aware that the two hadn't been on the best terms, even before the fight.

'_Then again, they haven't spoken in years… Maybe this is just what they need…'_

Inko let him inside; "Do you remember where it is?" she asked; there was a time when Katsuki was over all the time, after all.

"Yea, I got it." Katsuki said, making his way for Izuku.

'_Let's hope something good comes out of this…' _Inko thought.

VVV

Izuku was still at his desk when he heard his door open, then close; he turned, "Do you need something mo-"

His words dried in his mouth; "K-Kacchan? What're you doi-"

"Shut up." Katsuki said through gritted teeth; oddly enough, it was missing the usual anger.

Izuku complied; for a while the two stared at one another, saying nothing. It was Katsuki that finally broke the silence.

"How did you do it?" he asked.

Izuku was confused; "H-how did I do what?" he asked, '_damnit, I'm stuttering again.'_

Katsuki glared at him; "Don't act dumb with me, Deku. How did you… How did you beat me?"

Izuku sighed; _'So that's what this is about.' _

"Kacchan, I've been training everyday for the last seven years, its not that hard to-"

"And you think I haven't!" Katsuki interrupted, raising his voice, "I've been training with my Quirk every chance I get since I got it; I thought I was unbeatable, and you… You… Your Quirkless ass beat me!"

Izuku was getting frustrated now; though, if Katsuki was willing to talk, he wanted some answers of his own.

"Why do you put so much value in people's Quirks?" he asked.

"Why the hell shouldn't I? Everyone else does."

Izuku was confused; "That's not true, Kacchan-"

Katsuki grunted; "Like hell it isn't. Ever since I got my Quirk its never 'Wow Katsuki you're so smart' or 'Wow Bakugo, you're so brave,' its always 'Wow Kacchan, you have such an amazing Quirk!'"

Katsuki froze, realizing what he had just said; Izuku did too. Katsuki leaned back against the wall, sitting on the ground.

"Do you really think that, Kacchan?" Izuku finally asked.

"I know it. And if I'm only as good as my Quirk… then I have to make sure everyone knows I've got the best."

Realization dawned on Izuku; _'So that's why he bullies everyone with a weaker Quirk than him…'_

Katsuki continued; "When we were kids, out in the forest… you overpowered me, pushed me off that bridge… that was bad enough" he paused, "But then you had the nerve to come down and try to help me? You? You were Quirkless… You were beneath me, I didn't need your…"

He stopped. _'No wonder he was so mad that day, if that's how he saw things, and so young too…'_

"And now," Katsuki said, "You did it again. You beat me, I went all out and…" Katsuki was blinking back tears now, "If I can't beat someone who's Quirkless, what am I worth…"

Silence shrouded the room once again, neither boy being able to look the other in the eye.

Izuku's brain was going a mile a minute; '_If what Kacchan is saying is true… then everyone was reinforcing his behavior… even me… can I really blame him if that's truly how he saw the world? How he saw himself._

Izuku looked at Katsuki; he was sulking, clearly upset.

'_He's being so open, its only fair I do the same.'_

Izuku looked to Katsuki; "Y'know… even after all these years, all the pain you put me through… I still look up to you."

Katsuki locked eyes with Izuku, "I know, I know, I have such a great-"

"Not because of your Quirk." Izuku interrupted, "I mean, don't get me wrong, you do have an incredible power but… its your confidence, your drive…"

Katsuki stared, wide-eyed; "No matter what, even when the odds are stacked against you, you still never give up, never surrender… I wanted to be like you for the longest time… Even now, when I think of victory, I think of you, Kacchan."

Katsuki didn't respond, only stared at Izuku, as if deciding what to do with that information. Eventually, he spoke; "You still trying to be a hero?"

Izuku didn't hesitate; "Yes. Everyday of my life."

"Heh… I can tell… Its no easy feat, beating me head on…"

Izuku laughed; "Yea, tell me about it… your explosions are really strong!"

"You're damn right they are!" he boasted.

Izuku smiled; that was the Katsuki he remembered, confident, but not an asshole about it.

There was just one more thing he needed to know.

"Why did you avoid me all those years?"

Katsuki sighed; "Everyime I saw you, I was reminded of one thing; that damn day in the forest. I hated it. I begged my mom to transfer me just to get away from you, but the old hag wouldn't do it... The next best thing was pretending you didn't exist."

Izuku nodded; "That makes sense, I suppose."

There was another pause; "You decide what high school you're going for?" Katsuki asked.

"UA. Same as you?" Izuku replied.

"Yea."

Katsuki rose off the ground and met Izuku's eyes; without a word, he opened the door and left, closing it behind him.

'_Well, that… could've been worse? Maybe… maybe things can go back to the way they were…'_

Izuku looked down at the still blank piece of paper; _'I know what to write.'_

He got to work.

VVV

Inko watched Katsuki leave without a word, but he looked different than before…

She could've sworn she saw a smile on his face.

VVV

When Katsuki had returned to school, there was already talk of the fight he and Izuku had.

"Did you hear? Midoriya beat BAKUGO in a fight!" one student said.

"What? No way! He's Quirkless!" another replied

"No, its true! He got his ass kicked!"

"Maybe he's not as strong as we thought…"

"Or maybe Midoriya does have a Quirk?…"

Surprisingly, Katsuki didn't blow up on these students; in fact, he didn't speak all day, refusing to acknowledge anyone.

Izuku noticed that Kojiro was no where to be found; when he asked about it, he was informed that his mother had transferred him to another school, something about an "inexcusable tolerance for bullying at Aldera Junior High."

All things considered, he couldn't blame her.

At the end of the day, before going home, both he and Izuku were summoned to the principal's office, to exchange their apologies.

"Go on then," the principal instructed, "Hand 'em over to each other, I don't have all day."

Katsuki got his first; he tore open the envelope, unfolding the paper within; he read it to himself:

_Kacchan,_

_I'm sorry._

_You're so much more than your Quirk._

_Izuku_

It was short and to the point, not that he could complain. Quickly, Katsuki handed Izuku his envelope. Izuku read the contents:

_Izuku,_

_I'm sorry for everything._

_You can be a hero._

_Katsuki_

And really, that was all that needed to be said.

"Are you both satisfied?" the principal asked; the two boys nodded.

"Good, then get out and go home," he commanded, shooing them out the door.

Izuku was the first to leave; he heard a cough behind him.

"Hey Dek- Izuku," Katsuki corrected himself.

"Yes, Kacchan?"

"You wanna… Walk home together?" he asked hesitantly.

Izuku's smile couldn't have been wider.

* * *

**And that is a wrap!**

**This was probably my favorite chapter to write so far, and the one I've been looking forward to getting your feedback on; I hope you like where I took Katsuki's character and motivations.**

**Hope the fight scene was good as well, I'm still never sure of that kind of thing. **

**In regard to the OC, Kojiro, don't expect him to appear again; generally speaking, I don't really like OCs in fanfiction, they almost ALWAYS feel out of place to me. Not to denigrate other people's work, its just not my cup of tea; his main function was to serve as a catalyze for the fight, which he did. **

**I've been having trouble the last few updates with FF not pushing my story to the front page and not being able to see recent reviews; I THINK this is due to me posting more than one chapter a day. If I'm right, then I'll stop doing that, if I'm wrong, I would really appreciate someone telling me how I can fix this. **

**Now, the reviews!**

**TheGreatBubbaJ: Thank you for all the reviews! I also wonder why Momo hasn't done that… Seems like it'd be pretty effective! In regards to your Quirk guess, another interesting idea, but not quite where I'm taking it ;)**

**The Kenzy: More great guesses for the Quirk! Don't worry, it'll all make sense soon…ish. Thank you for the kind words, they mean a lot!**

**Tiguylerobot: Dadzawa indeed!**

**AnimeA55Kicker: Hope it wasn't too sweet! Don't worry, we'll get to some angst (and more sweetness) soon enough!**

**That about covers it; as always thank you so much for reading! Be sure to follow, favorite, and review if you enjoyed it, they really help!**

**Next Chapter: We hit the beginning of the manga!**


	6. You Can Become a Hero!

**Chapter 6, we're hitting manga content, folks!**

* * *

**You Can Become a Hero!**

* * *

"Wow, Kacchan, check it out!" Izuku shouted, pointing to the fighting on the overpass ahead.

Izuku and Katsuki were walking to school together, just as they had been the last two years; after finally growing to understand one another, they rekindled their friendship. It was awkward, at first; one couldn't expect them to go from practically strangers to best friends again immediately, but they quickly found that, once past that initial hurdle, they clicked like few people did.

It certainly helped that Katsuki, for his part, had calmed down considerably; he wasn't perfect, and was still liable to explode on people, but was much better at keeping his temper in check. He also didn't outright torment those he saw as "beneath him" anymore, although he still had that competitive edge, that drive to "be the best," not to mention his liberal use of profanity. He stood at an above average 5'8", and in much better shape than many of his peers.

That can be attributed to Izuku; when their friendship finally found its swing, Katsuki insisted that Izuku train with him; "Just you wait, I'll surpass you eventually!" he had said. Izuku was happy to oblige, exercising with Katsuki whenever he was available; the results weren't at swift, or remarkable, for him as they had been for Izuku; he had grown to be 5'11", with a hefty build sporting "muscles for days," as a female peer told him. Izuku still blushed when thinking of _that_ conversation.

"Damn, that's Kamui Woods!" Katsuki exclaimed, making his way as close as he could to the action, only to be stopped.

"Stay back, everyone, its dangerous!" commanded Backdraft, a pro hero with the power to control water and dressed like a fireman. He had spigots placed over his hands, allowing him to quickly have access to water.

"Ah man, I wanted to get closer! C'mon Izuku… Izuku?"

Izuku had been too busy writing to hear his best friend, quickly filling out any and all information he could on Kamui Woods; he had never stopped writing his hero journals, now on number thirteen; they kept his mine sharp, and helped him in battle.

"C'mon nerd, we gotta get to class!" Katsuki teased, "no time for another one of your diaries!"

"Just a minute, Kacchan, its almost over!" Izuku insisted, "besides, we can always run if we need to!"

"Tch, fine, but if we're late, its on you!" Katsuki relented.

A bald man with spikes on his head overheard them; "Risking being late to watch a fight… you two are a couple of fanboys, ain't ya?!"

Both boys looked at the man; before they could respond, they heard Kamui address the villain; "Illegal use of powers during rush hour and robbery resulting in bodily injury…" he listed, preparing an attack.

"You are the incarnation of evil!"

"Ooh, Kacchan, he's about to do it, his special move!" He pointed to Kamui, "Pre-emptive…"

"…Binding Chain Prison!" the hero screamed, unleashing his attack.

Unfortunately for him, the attack never landed; "CANYON CANNON!" yelled a giant woman, delivering a dropkick to the villain, knocking him clean off the overpass.

"…Huh?" Kamui questioned.

Suddenly, several men began taking photographs of the new heroine; "Hello everyone!" she said, "Today is the day of my debut; My name is Mt. Lady…" she introduced, "..pleasure to meet your ass-quaintance…" she teased with a wink.

Even Katsuki was blushing at that.

Izuku, meanwhile, was writing furiously in his notebook, "Gigantification, that's an amazing Quirk, huh Kacchan?" he asked

"It's powerful, yea, but with all the damage she caused, she'll be lucky if she gets paid at all!" he pointed out.

"You two're still here?" the man from before asked, "You must really wanna be heroes! You can do it!" He gave a thumbs up.

Izuku blushed, "Thank you, sir!" he said, quickly elbowing Katsuki, "huh? Oh, right, thanks." He turned to Izuku, "ready to go yet, or still writing your novel?"

Izuku checked his watch; they were gonna be late! "Race you there?" he challenged.

"Oh, hell yea!"

VVV

Izuku and Katsuki managed to get to class just on time; upon the bell ringing, their teacher immediately began lecturing.

"Since you're all in your third year, its time to start seriously thinking about your future…" he began, picking up a stack of papers, "normally, I'd give you all these career sheets, but…"

He threw all the papers into the air; "You all wanna be heroes, don't you!"

At the mention of heroes, the whole class became animalistic, hollering and cheering, with many even activating their Quirks. Izuku shot a smile at Katsuki, who gave him a thumbs up.

"Yes, yes, you all have wonderful Quirks, just remember that you're not allowed to use at school!" the teacher lightly scolded.

"Aw c'mon, teach, there's only two people in this room who're got what it takes to be pros!"

Izuku smiled, despite himself; he knew he shouldn't approve of such boasting, but it felt he had to admit it felt nice for Katsuki to believe in him.

"Yea! You're talking about me, right Bakugo?" one student asked.

"No, you idiot, he's obviously talking about me!" another argued.

"Oi! Shut up, all of you! I'm talking about Izuku!"

Suddenly all eyes turned to him; "Midoriya?" one said, "But he's Quirkless!" Another finished.

"Yea, and he could still beat all your asses with his eyes closed!" Katsuki insisted, earning a glare from Izuku; "What, its true!"

'_Even if it is, isn't that going a bit far!' _Izuku thought.

"Right," the teacher said, calming his students, "Midoriya, you and Bakugo are the only ones shooting to UA, right?"

"That's right sir!" he said; him and Katsuki were planning on applying on the same day. It was also the only school either were bothering to do so for.

"What!" one student exclaimed, "their acceptance rate is less than one percent, what hope do they have of getting in!"

"Hey!" Katsuki argued, "Him and I are aced the mock tests, and we're the only ones here who had the balls to even try for UA, so until that changes you can shut your mouth!"

"Still, he's Quirkless, do they even let Quirkless kids apply?" another student questioned.

"Actually," Izuku spoke up, "they got rid of that rule years ago, there just hasn't been anyone that's done it; I intend to be the first!"

Katsuki smiled; '_You're damn right you are!'_

The arguments dried up after that; Izuku was applying to UA, whether they liked it or not!

VVV

Meanwhile in another part of the city, a robbery had just occurred!

"Help, somebody, thief!" a storeowner screamed, trying to get the attention of a hero.

"Catch me if you can!" the villain yelled back.

The criminal in question was a grotesque collection of green sludge, no doubt the product of a Quirk. He wore no shirt, instead opting for only jeans and a belt, money stuffed into his body.

"Are there really no heroes around?!" a woman asked aloud.

"Some people seem to have no idea what to do with their Quirks… it's like there's no end to the crime here!" another man said.

No one noticed a man, almost skeletal in appearance, exit a nearby grocery store. Quickly, he began getting bigger, stronger…

"**There is an end,"** he announced, commanding the attention of nearby civilians., **"Why?"**

The Sludge Villain turned around, eyes widening at the sight before him.

All Might, the number one hero, flashed a wide smile, **"because I am here!"**

VVV

It was now the end of the school day, and Izuku and Bakugo were getting ready to leave.

"Oh wow, the incident from earlier is already all over the news!" Izuku said excitedly, "I'm gonna hurry home so I can write about it in my journal; you coming, Kacchan?"

"Can't today," he replied, "Got some errands mom wanted me to do."

"Oh, well I can come with you, if you want?" Izuku offered.

Katsuki waved him off; "Nah, go write your nerd shit, I can handle picking up some groceries. See you tomorrow?" he asked, fist outstretched.

"For sure!" Izuku beamed, giving his friend a fist bump, "stay safe, Kacchan!"

"I'm sure I will!"

VVV

Izuku walked home; normally he would run, but it was a nice day out, and he wanted to enjoy some air!

He passed under a bridge on his path home; _'man, there's so much I wanna write about! Mt. Lady's Quirk seems basic, but there's so many possibilities based on-'_

*CLANG*

He stopped. '_What was that?' _he wondered, turning around; '_it sounded like it came from-'_

Suddenly, the manhole in front of him busted open, a mass of green sludge pouring out; _'There!' _Izuku thought, getting into a defensive position.

"Ooh, what a fine invisibility cloak, nice and big…" the villain taunted, inching closer, "I bet you have a real nice Quirk…"

The villain lunged towards Izuku; quickly, he dived forward to where the villain had just been, avoiding him.

"What the- Stand still you!" he demanded, swiping at Izuku with his tentacles.

Izuku managed to dodge everyone, even going in for a few kicks, only for his legs to pass right through him!

'_No use, physical attacks are useless; I gotta get help!" _

"C'mon, kid! I just wanna take your body! It'll only hurt for forty-five seconds!" the villain said, ramping up is attacks.

Just as Izuku was about to make a break for it, a massive figure leaped up from the manhole; _'Who the… No way!'_

"**Thanks for keeping him busy, kid!" **All Might, praised.

"ALL MIGHT!" the Sludge Villain yelled, throwing a tentacle at him.

"**TEXAS…" **All Might started, reeling back his fist, **"SMASHHHHHHHH!" **he yelled, letting lose a huge haymaker.

While his fist didn't actually connect with the villain, the wind pressure the punch produced literally blew him to _pieces_, knocking him unconscious in the process.

'_What power!' _Izuku thought.

All Might turned to him; **"Nice job, kid! Not many could've held out as long as you did!"**

"Oh! Thank you All Might! Really though, you did all the work!" Izuku insisted, giddy at getting to meet the number one hero.

"**Nonsense, you were a big help!" **he replied, eyeing Izuku, "**Hey kid, just out of curiosity, how old are you?"**

"Hm? I'm fourteen," Izuku answered, "why?"

'_**FOURTEEN?!**__**He's almost as big as I was at his age!' **_All Might thought; **"Well I must say kid, you're in impeccable shape! Have you been training?" **he asked.

"Yes!" Izuku replied, "everyday for the last nine years, I've been training to be a hero!"

All Might's eyes widened; **"Well, you've certainly got the determination for it!" **He gave Izuku a thumbs up, "**What's your name, kid?" **

"Izuku Midoriya!" he answered.

"**Well, young Midoriya," **All Might said, holding up two bottles, **"How would you like to do some hero work?" **

Needless to say, he accepted without question.

VVV

After scraping the villain into the bottles, All Might prepared his departure.

"**Here you go kid!"** All Might said, handing Izuku his newly signed notebook, **"and might I say, those are some impressive notes you have in there! You have a bright future, young man!"**

"Wow, thanks All Might! I'll cherish it forever!"

"**No problem! You stay safe now, you hear?!" **All Might asked.

"Of course!"

All Might began stretching his legs, ignoring the searing pain in his side; **'**_**Damn, I'm almost at my limit. Better get this guy to the police, and fast!'**_

Izuku looked down at his notebook; he couldn't believe it! An autograph from his favorite hero! He couldn't wait to tell-

'_Kacchan!' _he realized, '_I completely forgot to get him one!'_

He turned around and quickly approached All Might; he was too distracted by his pain to hear him coming, to feel him grab his arm…

And off he went.

'_**What the? I don't remember being this heavy!' **_All Might thought, looking down to see an unwanted passenger on his arm.

"A-ALL MIGHT," Izuku screamed, "I'D REALLY APPRECIATE IT IF YOU LANDED NOW!"

"**Midoriya! What're you doing? Let go of me!"**

"IF I DID THAT I'D DIE!" Izuku pointed out.

"**Oh… right!" **All Might realized, looking for a place to land.

As he flew through the air, All Might brought fist to his mouth, coughing as subtly as he could. _**'Shit…'**_he thought, tasting the blood pooling in his mouth.

When they finally landed, Izuku breathed a sigh of relief; "Thank you, All Might! I'm sorry I latched on like that!"

All Might was less than please; _**"**_**That was a dangerous choice, young man. You could have easily been hurt"** he began, **"No matter how strong your Quirk, one reckless move can mean your end. You'd do well to remember that." **

He began to walk off; Izuku looked on, confused; "Quirk? What're you talking about All Might? I don't have Quirk."

He froze, looking back at Izuku; **"No Quirk?..." **

"Well yea, I'm Quirkless," he looked off to the city's skyline; "I know, it's unusual for someone like me to want to be a hero but… its all I've ever wanted since I was a kid…" Izuku smiled to himself, "I've been so lucky… my mom… my sensei… my best friend… even some total strangers, they've all believed in me… and have pushed me to be a hero who can save everyone with a smile, just like you! Right, All Might?"

He looked back to the number one hero, only to see a cloud of smoke; "Huh? All Might?"

When the smoked cleared, where previously the number one hero stood was a small, sickly looking man with blonde hair, heavy shadows obscuring his eyes.

Izuku immediately got into a defensive position; "Who are you, and what've you done with All Might?" he demanded.

He rolled his eyes; "I am All Might," he answered, blood pouring from his mouth.

Izuku eased a bit; he wasn't sure if he believed him, but this man was clearly ill; he needed help.

"Here, let me help you," Izuku said, approaching the man; he eased him down to the floor, much to his relief.

"So… if you're All Might, why're you so… Skinny?" he questioned.

All Might sighed; "You know those guys who flex and suck in their gut at the beach?" Izuku nodded, "it's like that…"

"Ah!" Izuku exclaimed, "So its part of your Quirk?"

"No," he replied, "a villain did this to me."

Izuku's eyes widened; "A villain?! But you're All Might, you save everyone with a fearless smile…"

All Might laughed; "A fearless smile, huh?..."

He looked to Izuku; "Now that you've seen me like this, don't go posting it online, or telling your friends," he paused, lifting his shirt.

What Izuku saw made him gag; on All Might's left side was a massive wound, still bruised even, as if he had been punctured by something. His skin twisted and contorted around it unnaturally; it was horrifying.

"A-a villain did that to you?" he hesitantly asked.

"Yep, five years ago now. Half my respiratory system was destroyed, along with my entire stomach. I haven't been the same sense. Nowadays, I can only work three hours a day as a hero, and even that's pushing it," All Might explained.

'_Five years…' _"Toxic Chainsaw?"

'_Damn, this kid knows his stuff!' _All Might thought; "No, no, that punk could never… this fight wasn't made public…"

"Why?" Izuku questioned, "If people knew they could-"

All Might stopped him; "It's like you said, I save everyone with a fearless smile; that's what they," he motioned towards the city, "need to believe. I smile to calm their fears… and my own."

Izuku stared, processing the information just given to him… If even All Might can fall…

"I hope now, knowing this, you understand what I am about to tell you," All Might said, standing up.

Izuku looked up at him, "W-what do you mean?" he stuttered; '_Old habits die hard…'_

"Your dedication is admirable, but…" he looked down, "I simply can't condone someone without a Quirk becoming a hero; we put our lives on the line every day, its simply too dangerous…" All Might explained; _'I take no joy in this, Young Midoriya; believe me, I understand but… I can't let you throw your life away.'_

"I… I see…" was all Izuku could respond with.

All Might took that as his cue to leave; "If you really wish to help people, become a police officer, or work at a heroes agency… that notebook of yours could make you very valuable to a pro…"

He paused at the door; "Its fine to dream, young man, but try to keep them realistic."

And with that, All Might left, leaving Izuku alone.

'_All right, time to get this guy-" _he reached down to his pockets, only to find them empty; _'What th-' _hearing an explosion, he quickly looked out a nearby window to see a large plume of smoke.

'_Oh no…'_

VVV

Katsuki Bakugo walked down an alley in that Tatooin Shopping District, idly kicking a bottle as he went.

'_Alright, got all mom's stuff, time to head home,' _he thought, pulling out his phone.

'_Huh, Izuku usually texts me by now, wonder if something happened on his way home…'_

Izuku assured Katsuki that bullies had never been a real problem for him, but that didn't stop him from worrying; he'd blow the face of anyone who touched him!

'_It's the least I can do.' _he thought; it had been years since he and Izuku reconciled, but he still felt pangs of guilt every now and again.

Not that he'd ever tell him that.

'_Damn nerd would probably get all worried…' _he thought.

Suddenly, he heard a loud sloshing sound coming from behind; _"_What the…" he turned around and froze at the sight.

"A new invisibility cloak!"

VVV

Izuku saw the explosion from the rooftop; '_Another villain? I wonder what hero wi-' _he stopped, remembering All Might's words.

Of course, people had told Izuku he'd never be a hero before; hell, his own best friend told him that, once upon a time. But this was_ All Might_, if anyone knew about being a hero, it was him.

His thoughts turned to Shota, his mentor; he was a hero too, and he believed in him… '_But he probably didn't know about All Might… if he did…'_

Izuku looked down; '_What if they were all wrong about me?..."_

For the first time in a long time, Izuku Midoriya was doubting himself.

He trudged forward, forcing himself down the stairs, _'best if I just go home for now… think about some things.'_

VVV

All Might ran towards the direction of the explosions, down the Tatooin Shopping District; panicked screams could be heard the whole way.

The sight before him horrified him; the Sludge Villain had broken free and taken a child hostage!

When he arrived, a group of pro-heroes was already on the scene; _"_They've taken a child hostage!" a burly hero, Death Arms, yelled, rushing towards the Sludge Villain.

He delivered the strongest punch he could to the villain, to no effect; his fist simply sunk into the sludge.

"What the- I can't get a grip!" Death Arms screamed, trying to pry his arm free before being slapped away by a tentacle.

"Don't come near me!" the villain warned; quickly, Katsuki momentarily broke free, "I won't let sewage like this take me!" he shouted, shooting off more explosions from his palms.

"What power!" the Sludge Villain praised, "I've really hit the jackpot with you! With your power, I could even take revenge on that guy and his little helper!"

Meanwhile, civilians looked on with horror; "Is this guy some kind of big shot villain?" one asked.

"Hey look," a woman exclaimed, "its that new hero, Mt. Lady! She'll stop him!"

The gargantuan heroine made her way to the scene, only to stop dead in her tracks; "H-hey, the street's gotta be at least two lanes! I can't fit!"

Back at the scene, Kamui Woods was rapidly plucking civilians off the road; "I don't do good with fire! Best if I stick to rounding up bystanders!" he reasoned.

"I'm a little busy fighting these fires!" Backdraft yelled, "how're things over there?!"

"This guy's sticky, I can't grab him!" Death Arms answered, "Plus a kid with a strong Quirk is struggling against him, it's a minefield!"

The villain suddenly slammed a tentacle down, forcing the heroes to back up; "It's no use! We'll just have to wait until a hero with a suitable Quirk arrives!"

'_Damnit… if only I had the power to blow this villain away!' _Death Arms lamented.

All Might looked; _'It must've been in the air… I was too focused on my time limit, I didn't notice…' _he admonished himself, _'I can't believe I made this kind of mistake after what I told Young Midoriya… I am really am pathetic…"_

All Might grasped at his injury; _'Pathetic…'_

VVV

Izuku idly flipped through his hero notebook, mulling over All Might's words.

'_Maybe… maybe I could work for a hero agency, doing analysis work… that wouldn't be too bad… I could even work with Kacchan!" _He cringed, _'oh Kacchan… what am I gonna tell him!' _

Izuku looked up, only to see a mass of people surrounding an alley; _'Oh… I must have unconsciously walked towards the incident… well, may as well have a look, since I'm here…'_

Izuku pushed his way passed some bystanders and to the front; what he say froze him solid.

'_T-The sludge guy? But I thought All Might and I captured him… he must've fallen out of his pocket in midair! If that's true, then…' _Izuku shuddered, _'then its my fault…' _

"Why haven't the heroes done anything," Izuku overheard one civilian say.

"They can't, the villain's got a junior high schooler; its been like this for a while," another replied.

'_A while? Whoever he has must be strong…'_

"Anyway… wasn't that the villain All Might was chasing?" he continued.

"No way… All Might's here?"

The hero in question could also over hear their conversation; '_God I'm so pathetic…'_

'_It's all my fault…' _Izuku thought, _'All we can do is wait for a hero… I'm sorry, do your best!'_

'_Pathetic…'_

'_Help will be here soon…'_

'_Pathetic!'_

'_Someone… soon…' _Izuku looked up, meeting the scared eyes of the sludge villain's captive, and his stomach dropped.

'_Kacchan!'_

He didn't hesitate.

As fast as his legs could carry him, Izuku rushed forward towards his friend.

'_What the- Midoriya! What is he doing!'_

"Kid, STOP, HE'LL KILL YOU!" Death Arms screamed, reaching for Izuku.

He ignored him, moving faster; _'Gotta think of a plan!" _Quickly, he analyzed the villain; _'his entire body is made of sludge! Everything except…'_

The Sludge Villain glared at Izuku; "This brat again…"

'_Izuku?...' _Katsuki thought, beginning to fade out of consciousness, '_is that…'_

Quickly, Izuku rummaged in his backpack, pulling out a binder; with as much force as he could muster, he launched it at the Sludge villain's exposed eye, hitting his target dead on.

"GAH! YOU SON OF A BITCH!" he yelled, involuntary shutting his eye closed and reeling back, allowing Katsuki to breathe.

'_He's stunned, now's my chance!' _Izuku thought, reaching for his friend, "Kacchan!"

"Izuku! What're you doing here!" he demanded, "this guy could kill you!"

Izuku only had one response for him; "You look like you needed help!"

'_This boy!…' _All Might thought, looking on.

With that, Izuku grabbed Katsuki's arm, and with all his might, pulled. He was sure he pulled several muscles in his shoulder, but it got the job done; Katsuki was freed!

'_Pathetic… Pathetic!' _All Might thought, feeling a familiar power flow through him.

Katsuki tumbled to the floor, coughing; "great job, now what!" he demanded.

"YOU BASTARDS," the sludge villain yelled, raising a tentacle, I'll kill you both!"

Izuku didn't think; his body moved to shield Katsuki from the blow; he closed his eyes and accepted the inevitable.

'_At least I saved him!'_

Izuku waited; when no pain came, he peeked his eyes open; **"I really am pathetic, aren't I?"**

"All Might…"

There stood the number one hero, holding back the tentacle meant for Izuku!

"**Even after admonishing you, I didn't practice what I preached!" **

He pulled his fist free; **"Heroes are always putting their lives on the line!"**

"ALL MIGHT!" the sludge villain screamed, preparing another attack.

"**DETROIT…" **he reeled back his fist, **"SMASHHHHHHHH!" **and let lose a massive right hook, creating a massive updraft.

All the nearby onlookers struggled to stay standing, even behind the protective arms of Mt. Lady.

Just as before, the wind pressure was too much for the criminal to handle; "DAMN YOU ALL MIG-" he managed before falling apart.

Izuku looked on in amazement, then felt a drop of rain on his cheek; _'No way… did All Might's punch… change the weather?!"_

Katsuki stared, jaw agape; _'Holy shit… no wonder he's number one…'_

The crowd nearby broke into cheers; All Might had done it again! He saved the day!

All with his signature smile.

VVV

Both Izuku and Katsuki were forced to stay to be checked by EMTs, much to one of their annoyance.

"I told you, I'm fine!" he insisted as the doctor checked him over.

"Hey kid," said an approaching hero, "you did great out there! You've got a great Quirk! Y'know if you ever go pro, I'd love to have you as my sidekick!"

Katsuki gritted his teeth; _'Did great? DID GREAT?! I'd be dead if it weren't for…'_

Izuku could not be getting more different treatment.

"What you did was very dangerous, young man! You could've been hurt or killed! You should leave the heroism to the professionals!" Death Arms scolded.

'_Right… the professionals who were gonna sit there and watch my friend die… so reliable…'_

He didn't mean that, of course, he knew they had done their best; he was just frustrated.

VVV

They had let Izuku go first; he was uninjured, save for some pulled muscles. He would have waited for Katsuki, but he was quickly shooed away by the police.

He had caught a glimpse of All Might as he left, swarmed by reporters. He almost tried to go talk to him but decided against it.

As he walked down his street, Izuku heard a voice behind him "Izuku, wait up!"

He turned around; "Kacchan! They let you go?"

"Yea, finally," Katsuki replied, out of breath, "Had to haul ass to catch up with you."

He continued; "You saved me back there, y'know? I was just about done when you pulled me out…"

Izuku shuttered, thinking of just how close he came to too late… "I didn't do anything, Kacchan, All Might's the one that defeated the villain!"

"Yea, but I wouldn't have lasted until he got there without you!" he retorted, "Damnit, not even in high school yet and you're kicking my ass as a hero!"

Izuku smiled; "Well, I'm sure you'll catch up… eventually," he teased.

"You're God damn right I will!" Katsuki declared; "I gotta get home, my mom's probably having an aneurism. See you tomorrow?"

"Of course!"

After a quick fist bump, the two parted ways, Izuku in much higher spirits.

"I can still do this… I can't let Kacchan and everyone else down!"

Suddenly, he was forced to a halt by a large figure and boisterous voice, "**I am here!"**

Izuku jumped back in surprise; "All Might?" he asked.

'_Oh no, is he hear to scold me too?'_

He didn't know if he could take hearing his hero crush his dreams twice in one day.

Izuku continued; "Why are you here? Last I checked you were swarmed by reporters!"

"**HAHAHAHA," **All Might laughed, **"I stand for justice, not soundbites! Getting away from them was easy, why? Because I am All Mi-**ACK!" he sputtered, suddenly reverting to his skinny form.

"Are you alright?!" Izuku questioned.

All Might coughed int his fist; "Yes, yes, I'm fine…"

All Might continued; "Young man, I came to thank you… and to apologize."

He paused, "If I hadn't met you, if you hadn't told me about your life, I wouldn't have had the courage to save that boy today."

"Oh, no, All Might," Izuku insisted, "it was my fault the villain got free, if I hadn't been distracting you in the first place, bothering you about my stupid questions…"

All Might stopped him; "And yet it was because of you, a Quirkless boy, that I was able to act."

Izuku locked eyes with All Might, unable to find the words to respond.

"Top heroes have stories, from their school days," All Might explained, "most of them have one thing in common: their bodies moved, before they could even think. That's what happened today, isn't it?"

Izuku gaped; "Yes! Yes, that happens every time!"

"So this isn't the first time then…"

'All the more reason to be confident in my decision.'

Izuku shook his head, if what All Might said was true…

"_Yes… yes Izuku, of course you can be a hero!"_

"_For what it's worth, Midoriya-kun, I think you'll be an excellent hero one day."_

"_You have the makings of a fantastic hero."_

"_You can be a hero."_

Then they all weren't wrong about him.

Tears pooled in Izuku's eyes; not of sadness, but joy.

"I apologize for my earlier haste in judging you,"

All Might locked eyes with Izuku.

"Young man, you can become a hero."

The tears fell; "I know All Might…" he croaked… "I've always known…"

'_Thanks to them…' _

All Might grinned; "You are worthy! I choose you to inherit my Quirk!"

Izuku's face went blank, cheeks still wet with tears; "Wha?"

* * *

**And that's a wrap! **

**Man, what a rollercoaster this chapter was! I was listening to "You Can Become a Hero" off the OST, and man if I did music recommendations in the middle of fics, that'd be here somewhere! I was tearing up near the end!**

**I hope Izuku and Katsuki's relationship was believable; they both clearly like teasing one another, even if Katsuki is still a bit regretful about his actions; point is, they don't tip toe around each other.**

**All Might is super fun to write, both in my head and on paper; he just brings such an energy to every scene he's in.**

**Stuck fairly close to canon this chapter, that'll be changing next time :)**

**Now, onto the reviews!**

**AnimeA55Kicker: Hey, sometimes a good punch (or kick) is all you need to be set straight!**

**fencer29: We'll just have to see, won't we! I don't know how well it came across here, but judging on how Katsuki talks about his mother, their relationship clearly isn't as… strained :)**

**maxridelover: Thank you, I did as well!**

**Bob: Izuku won't be getting THAT broken… or will he? **

**Mazongian: Thank you so much! You have no idea how happy it made me to read this, I was super worried about where I was taking Katsuki's fall!**

**chadcalebt: Not quite! Good guess, though!**

**Anc1ienT: Yea, I'm pretty sure that's the case; I know it's hurting my exposure, but I can't help it, if a chapter is ready, I just gotta post it!**

**SolSunFanfics: No my friend, YOU are awesome!**

**Eminated: Me too! I just hope I handled it realistically!**

**And that about covers it! As always, if you enjoyed, drop a review, follow, and favorite! It's the best way to tell a writer "I want move of this and I want it now!"**

**Next chapter: A wild Quirk appears, finally!**


	7. Vessel

**Chapter 7! The one you've been waiting for!**

* * *

**Vessel**

* * *

Izuku shook the shocked expression off his face; did he hear that right?

"Inherit? You're Quirk?" he questioned, "All Might, what're you talking about?"

"My power, young man," All Might began, "the tabloids call it 'Super Human Strength,' or 'Boost;' whenever I'm asked about it, I dodge the question with a funny joke."

'_That's true…' _Izuku thought; _'I've been trying to write an analysis on All Might for years, but I've never known enough about his Quirk to do it justice…'_

All Might continued; "The Symbol of Peace, All Might… he has to be a natural born hero… but that isn't the truth," he brought both hands behind his head, bringing them down firmly, "my Quirk was passed on to me, like an Olympic torch!"

"Passed on…" Izuku muttered; _'Is that even possible?'_

"That's right! And now," All Might pointed at him, "It's your turn, young man!

Izuku had lost himself in thought; _'While it's true that All Might's Quirk has been hotly debated for years, no one has thought that it was given to him!' _

He was having a hard time digesting this; "Is that true, All Might? You weren't born with your Quirk?"

"Of course!" All Might explained, "I may hide the many things, but I never lie! The Quirk I inherited was the power to transfer power!"

He held out his hand; "I was crowned with One For All!"

Izuku was awestruck; "One For All…"

"That's right!" All Might explained, "One person cultivates the power, then passes it on to another for them to do the same! It is this crystallization of power than gives me my strength, that allows me to be the Symbol of Peace!"

"And you want to give me that power?" Izuku asked, "Why?"

"I've been looking for a successor, and after seeing you today, I couldn't think of a more worthy candidate!" All Might beamed, "You, a Quirkless schoolboy, was more heroic than anyone else at that scene!"

Izuku stared, wide-eyed; '_He's really serious about this…'_

"But only if you want to," All Might clarified, "The burden is great; I will not judge you if you refuse! So, what will it be, young man; will you be my successor?"

Izuku stared at him; was that even a question?

'_The chance to receive All Might's power, to train under him, to be the world's greatest hero? How could I refuse?' _

He locked eyes with All Might, determination flashing across his face; "I'll do it!" he declared resolutely.

All Might chuckled; "No hesitation, just as I thought!"

Izuku nodded; "So, when can we start?"

All Might paused, looking at the boy; _'He's in impeccable shape… almost too impeccable… If I had to guess, he could handle One For All right now… he probably couldn't go all out quite yet but…'_

He put a hand on his chin; '_still, I wanna see just how ready his body is…'_

"All Might?" Izuku asked; '_he's been standing there a while now!'_

"Right!" All Might exclaimed, snapping back to reality, "Young Midoriya, meet me at Dagobah Municipal Beach in two days, five o'clock sharp! We begin your training there!"

Izuku smiled; "Yes, sir!"

VVV

Izuku knew he was in for a reckoning when he got home.

'_In all that excitement, I completely forgot to call mom… I wonder if she knows about what happened?'_

He got his answer when he opened the door to his apartment, running into Inko as she made her way to the door.

"What th- Izuku!" Inko cried, throwing her arms around her son; he was much taller than her now, but his hugs were nice all the same.

"Mom! What's the matter? Are you alright?" Izuku asked; it looked like she had been crying.

"I saw you! I saw you on the news!" she babbled, "I saw you save Katsuki from that villain!"

'_Oh. She's probably furious,' _he thought, "I'm sorry mom. I didn't mean t-"

"I'm so proud of you!" she interrupted.

"H-huh?" Izuku sounded, confused, "You're not mad?"

"Izuku…" Inko wiped her eyes, "I have never been more worried than when I saw you rush into that alley on the news but… honey, you saved him! You… you were a hero!"

Izuku didn't respond, only absorbing his mother's words; she continued; "Its nice to know all that work didn't go to waste, huh?"

"Yea…" Izuku said, the gravity of his actions finally coming down on him, '_I was a hero today…'_

"Now sit-down young man!" Inko commanded with a smile, sitting on the couch, "I want to know everything that happened today!"

"Oh right!" Izuku replied, "I have so much to tell you!"

VVV

Izuku explained in detail everything that happened that day; the fight with the Sludge Villain, meeting All Might, _talking_ to All Might, the _second _fight with the Sludge Villain and-

He paused; '_Do I tell her about All Might's offer? He had been keeping it a secret…'_

"Izuku? Are you ok?"

"Hm? Oh, yea mom, I'm fine!" he assured, "just tired. I guess."

'_I should ask All Might before I say something I shouldn't.'_

"Oh, right!" Inko exclaimed, raising off the couch, "You've had a long day, why don't you head to bed dear?"

"I think I will, thanks mom!"

He gave his mom a wave and retreated to his room; '_So much has happened today…' _Izuku thought, collapsing into bed.

'_All Might believes I'm a worthy successor to be the Symbol of Peace; I can't let him down!'_

He laid his head on his pillow, feeling his eyes grow heavy; '_Man, I really am tired…'_

Izuku fell asleep, feeling more determined than he had in years.

VVV

"Too slow, Kacchan!"

It was the morning after his meeting with All Might; Katsuki had insisted on sparring with Izuku, which he was happy to oblige him in; they met in the park, where Izuku and Shota used to train.

'_I can't be relying on him to save me all the time… I've gotta be stronger, if I'm gonna be a hero!' _Katsuki had thought.

The use of Quirks in public was strictly forbidden, a rule Katsuki had grown to adhere to over the years; so while he couldn't improve his explosions, he _could_ work on his hand- to-hand skills.

"_You're so much more than your Quirk."_

He didn't know if he believed that, even now, but he was hell bent on trying.

Right now, however, Izuku had him in a headlock, the result of their latest match.

"Alright, alright, I give!" Katsuki relented, feeling the pressure on his neck disappear, "Another win for you, Izuku."

Izuku smiled at him; "Aw don't be too down Kacchan, you're getting better, really!" he guaranteed, grabbing a water bottle, "you nearly had me with that uppercut!"

He scoffed, "you mean the one I whiffed AND got a right hook for my trouble?"

"Yea, that's the one!" Izuku teased.

Katsuki shoved his shoulder with a smile; "Yea, yea, fuck you too," he paused, "How long did you say it took you to get this good?"

"Five years, Kacchan; you can't rush this kind of thing," Izuku replied.

Izuku had relented in telling Katsuki about his training with Shota; he didn't mention the hero's name, or his occupation, only that he met him when he was seven, and convinced him to train him.

"Must've been a damn good teacher; I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere!"

Izuku smiled, reminiscing; "Yea, he was…" He snapped back to reality, "And I already told you, you're getting better! You've improved a lot of the last year!" Izuku assured, "If you were using your Quirk, I'm sure you'd be scoring wins!"

'_Damnit, I don't want that to be the case!'_

Katsuki groaned; "I'll have to take your word for it," he checked his watch; it was already six!

"I've gotta head home," he said, picking up his bag, "same time tomorrow?"

Izuku was about to accept, then stopped; "I'm sorry Kacchan, I can't; my mom wants me to… help her around the house tomorrow!"

Katsuki raised an eyebrow at him; "If you say so, text me if plans change."

'_Phew, he bought it!' _Izuku thought; _'If this becomes a regular thing, I'll need a better excuse for Kacchan!'_

'_That was… weird.' _Katsuki couldn't help but think as they parted ways.

VVV

"**Good job, Midoriya! Keep pushing!"**

"_When All Might said training, I thought he had something more practical in mind!'_

Said hero was currently sat upon a massive fridge, watching Izuku pull it across Dagobah Beach; "_**To gauge your ability!" **_he had said.

'_**If I'm being honest, I didn't expect him to be able to move it at all!' **_All Might thought.

"**C'mon Young Midoriya, faster! I know you can do it!" **All Might coached.

Izuku was understandably a bit frustrated at that; "Don't you weigh like six-hundred pounds!" Izuku shrieked.

"**Five-sixty, actually!" **All Might boasted, **"I've been on a diet!"**

After pulling the fridge a considerable distance towards the shore, All Might finally relented; **"Nice work, Young Midoriya! I'm very impressed!" **

Izuku looked around; the place was a dump, trash and salvage as far as the eye could see.

"Why are we out here anyway, All Might?" Izuku asked.

The hero laughed; **"Why, so you can clean up this beach to train your body!..."**

Izuku was confused; "My body? What's wrong with it?" Izuku asked.

"**Let me finish, young man!" **All Might warned, coughing, **"Anyway, that's what I would say, if you weren't such in great physical condition! Honestly, as you are now, it seems you're the perfect vessel to carry One For All!"**

Izuku blushed; he knew he was in good shape but… to hear All Might of all people praise him on it brought a smile to his face

"**However," **All Might grew serious, **"This beach used to be beautiful, once upon a time. Because of the currents, a lot of trash washed up on the shore; people took advantage, throwing their own garbage away here. Now, locals don't even come near; it's a dump!"**

All Might hopped off the fridge, placing his hand on top of it; **"Hero work wasn't always so flashy; once upon a time, it was all about volunteer work, even if people did find it boring! Which is why," **All Might crushed the fridge under his hand; the resulting shockwave dislodged a large pile of trash from the shore, revealing a beautiful sunrise, **"you are going to clean this beach for the locals! Once you do, you may receive One For All!"**

Izuku nodded his head; "I understand All Might! I'll do my best!"

"**I know!" **All Might exclaimed, **"And I don't want you doing any other exercise in the meantime, understood? No need to have yourself destroy your body now!"**

Izuku nodded; "Understood, sir!"

All Might smiled; **"You wanna get into UA, right kid?"**

"Of course! It's where all the top heroes went!" he beamed.

"**Then you better get to work!" **All Might recommended, motioning to the surrounding garbage, **"The entrance exam is in just ten months! That time will fly by!"**

"Oh! Right, I'll get right on it!" he said, rushing to the nearest trash pile.

All Might reverted to his skinny form, watching Izuku work; if he was being honest, he was only half truthful with the kid.

'_I do want you to do this as charity, Young Midoriya, but there is another reason for having you to clean this beach…'_

All Might covertly took out his phone, taking pictures of Izuku as he worked; _'There's no way that body is natural, not this young, and you don't seem the type to take drugs… which only leaves one possibility…_

_You have a Quirk.'_

He couldn't prove it, not yet; its why he needed Izuku to undertake intense exercise on his watch; he needed to monitor how much progress he made in a set amount of time.

'_I don't think you're a liar, Young Midoriya…' _All Might thought, seeing Izuku lift a solid steel safe off the ground, '_You've just been given false information.'_

Izuku approached All Might before it was time for them to part ways; he had something important to ask.

"All Might-sensei," Izuku started, "can I… tell anyone about this?"

His answer was immediate; "No, absolutely not; no one can know the truth about One For All, if they did, they would be in extreme danger!"

Izuku recoiled; "Well, what do I tell my mom, or my friends? They're gonna want to know where I am all the time!" he argued.

All Might thought on what he said; _'He has a point, but what can I do? He can't tell them he'll be training with All Might…'_

Then it hit him; '_No, not with All Might, but with Toshinori…'_

"Young Midoriya, are you free this afternoon?"

VVV

Inko was curious, to say the least. Not only was Katsuki coming for dinner, but Izuku was bringing someone new over!

The last time he did that, he spent five years training with him.

"So Izuku, who is it that's coming over?" Inko asked, tending to the oven.

"Yea, I wanna know too. You replacing me already?" Katsuki teased; no one noticed, but there was a hint of concern in his voice.

"As if!" Izuku exclaimed; "Its just someone I met today, I thought you both should meet hi-"

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

"Oh! I'll get it!" Inko said, making her way toward the door.

"Mom, I don't think you should…"

It was too late; she had already opening the door, revealing All Might in his skinny form; Inko was visibly shocked.

"H-hello sir…" she stuttered, "can I… help you?..."

All Might coughed into his hand; "Young Midoriya didn't tell you I was coming?"

Inko gasped; "Oh! You're Izuku's friend?" She stepped aside, "I'm so sorry, please come in!"

Katsuki whispered to Izuku; "you made friends with a cancer patient?"

The only answer he got was an elbow in the ribs.

"Let me introduce myself; my name is Inko Midoriya; I'm Izuku's mother!" she greeted, leading All Might inside.

Katsuki took the second elbow as his cue to introduce himself; "Katsuki Bakugo," he said blankly.

"I am Yagi Toshinori; it is a pleasure to meet you both." he said rather humbly.

'_Toshinori? That must be All Might's real name!'_

Inko returned to the kitchen, checking her various pots; "Izuku said you had something to tell us, Mr. Toshinori?"

"Yes, but that can wait," Yagi smiled, sitting down at the dinner table, "let us enjoy your wonderful smelling cooking, Midoriya-san."

Inko allowed a blush to cover her face; "R-right, thank you Mr. Toshinori!"

VVV

Dinner was a quiet affair, mostly consisting of idle chatter between Yagi and Inko; Katsuki and Izuku hadn't said a word. Eventually, everyone had filled their bellies, and the hero inwardly sighed; _'hope this works…'_

"Midoriya-san, I wish to jump straight to the point." He began.

Izuku swallowed hard; '_here we go…' _

"Of course, Mr. Toshinori, what is it?"

"You see, I saw your son a couple days ago, during the Sludge Villain incident. I was impressed," he began, "to see your son rush into danger as he did… it reminded me of my time as a hero."

Katsuki went wide-eyed; '_This guy… he was a hero?'_

Inko had a similar reaction, though was more vocal about it; "You used to be a hero?"

"Yes," Yagi confirmed, "a long time ago, I even graduated from UA!"

If Katsuki wasn't listening before, he was at full attention now; '_UA? What does this guy want with Izuku?" _

He continued; "Young Midoriya wishes to get into UA, as well, yes?"

Inko nodded; "for years now, yes…"

He looked her in the eyes; "I think your son has great potential… Which is why I wish to offer my services, to prepare him for the UA entrance exam!" Yagi declared.

"What!" both Inko and Katsuki exclaimed, causing Izuku to sweat.

"As a UA alumnus, I believe that I can help Young Midoriya. However, I will not do so without your permission." Yagi explained.

Inko thought about it; "Well, as long as he keeps his grades up, I don't see why not…"

'_Alright, now for the hard part…' _Izuku thought.

"Thank you. He will be in good hands," Yagi assured, turning to Katsuki, "and Young Bakugo, I have something for you."

Bakugo looked surprised as he was handed a sizeable stack of papers, stapled together; "The Aim to Pass American Dream Plan?..."

"It was Young Midoriya's idea; he told me you also were trying for UA," Yagi explained, "he wouldn't accept my help unless I offered it to you as well, and while I do not have time to train you personally, I hope that is a suitable substitute."

That was true; Izuku had told Yagi that it wasn't fair that he would receive all this help, while leaving his friend behind. He pressed him to create a plan for Katsuki to follow. Of course, their reasons weren't entirely selfless; if Katsuki was absorbed in this regime, he wouldn't have the time to sniff out their secret.

Now it was a matter if he accepted it.

Katsuki flipped through the many pages, a grin creeping on his face; when he finished, he had a full-fledged smile.

"This… Is BADASS!" Katsuki exclaimed, turning to Izuku, "this was you?"

Izuku blushed; "I just suggested it, it was Toshinori-sensei that made it."

He turned to Yagi, giving a quick bow; "thanks," Katsuki said a rare word from his mouth.

The hero smiled; "don't mention it, young man; I can tell you'll be a wonderful hero!"

Katsuki blushed slightly; _'lets hope so.'_

Yagi looked down at his watch; "well," he said, standing up, "its about time for me to go; Midoriya, you know where to be tomorrow."

Izuku nodded, "Yes, Toshinori-sensei!"

He turned to Inko and Katsuki; "It was a pleasure to meet you both," he bowed.

"Right!" "Thank you," Inko and Katsuki said, giving bows of their own as he left.

Both Izuku and Yagi had the same thought when he departed; '_That went so well!"_

VVV

With Inko and Katsuki taken care of, Izuku was free to pursue his training with Yagi; everyday for the next month he would make his way to Dagobah Beach, packing away as much trash as he could under the hero's watchful eye.

Yagi, for his part, was watching Izuku closely, constantly comparing his form to that of the pictures he took on his first day with him.

After the first week, he saw nothing.

After the second, he thought he saw something, but wasn't too sure.

After the third, he suspected he had been right to begin with.

After the fourth, he was certain.

Izuku had grown a noticeable amount of muscle mass since his first day; not a ton, but enough for it to ring alarm bells in Yagi's head; '_He must have a Quirk.'_

Of course, there was still the possibility he was wrong; the only way to be absolutely sure was to see a doctor, and there was only one doctor he trusted with something like this.

He pulled out his phone, dialing in an all too familiar number; "Shuzenji, I need a favor."

VVV

Izuku looked out the window of the car he was riding in; Yagi had told him there would be a "pause in training" for the day, that he needed to do something important with him.

He hadn't said what was so important, much to Izuku's frustration.

"Where're we going, Toshinori-sensei," Izuku asked; he had made it a habit of calling All Might by his civilian name when in his skinny form.

Not that he minded.

"I told you, Young Midoriya, you'll see. It's a surprise!" Yagi teased.

He pouted in his chair; "You could at least give me a hint!"

The hero smiled; "A hint? All right: we're here."

Izuku looked out the window, only to gape at the sight; "Is this- Are we?"

"Young Midoriya," Yagi said as he pulled in, "Welcome to UA!"

The building they were approaching was massive; windows reflecting the sky covered the walls, giving it an ethereal blue sheen.

Izuku turned to Yagi; "What're we doing here? How did you get in?"

All Might buffed up, laughing loudly; **"Young Midoriya! Being the number one hero has its perks!"**

'_**A white lie, but I can't tell him how just yet…'**_

"Yea, I guess so… but why're we here?" Izuku asked.

"**Follow me!" **All Might commanded, parking and stepping out of his car, taking a backpack with him.

He followed obediently, walking the massive halls of UA; '_One day, I'll be here as a student!'_

Eventually, the hero stopped at a door, throwing it open; **"Recovery Girl! We are here!"**

Chiyo Shuzenji, hero name Recovery Girl, was an elderly woman of short stature; she had grey hair, and exceptionally small eyes. She wore a white lab coat, carrying a cane in the image of a syringe.

"Toshinori!" she scolded, hitting him with her cane, "What have I told you about bursting in unannounced!"

All Might deflated to his skinny form; "GAH! My apologies, Recovery Girl!"

Izuku looked on in shock; _'He transformed! Right in front of her!"_

Yagi noticed the boy's distress, and allayed his fears; "Worry not, young Midoriya! She is privy to the secret of One For All."

He took a sigh of relief; Chiyo approached him, pocking at his chest.

"Hm. He's a big boy!" She exclaimed, "I can see why you think he has a Quirk!"

Izuku's whole world came to a standstill. His heart skipped a beat, his breathing hitched, his vision went blurry; had he heard her right just now?

"D-did you say… I have a Quirk?!" Izuku demanded.

Chiyo looked to All Might; "You didn't tell him?" she admonished.

He gave a sheepish smile; "it… never came up," he admitted.

Sighing, Chiyo turned to Izuku; "Have a seat, Midoriya," she said, leading him to a nearby bed.

"Now listen close, dear," she continued, "the rate at which you're growing muscle… it isn't normal. Toshinori believes you may have an undiagnosed Quirk; do you mind if I run some tests?" She asked.

Izuku nodded idly, not able to find the words to speak.

Chiyo attached a variety of sensors and wired to Izuku's right bicep, while Yagi reached into his bag, pulling out a one-hundred-pound dumbbell.

"Now Midoriya, all I need you to do is lift this weight until you can't anymore, alright?"

"Y-yes ma'am," he replied, idly lifting the dumbbell.

It was a half hour before Izuku was forced to stop. Chiyo spent a good fifteen minutes engrossed in her computer.

'_There's not way… they have to be wrong, If I had a Quirk they would've caught it when I was a kid… There's no way I ha-'_

"Midoriya," Chiyo finally spoke, "do you know how muscle growth works?"

"Well yea," Izuku answered, "When someone exercises, they make tears in their muscle fibers; the body repairs the damage, making the muscle thicker and stronger…"

"That's correct," she said, "and normally, that is a very slow process; the repair can take days, and the growth isn't very noticeable."

She turned to her computer, beckoning Izuku over; "Now, watch this. These are the muscles on the arm you were just using."

What was playing on the screen shocked Izuku; he saw his muscle fibers tear, and almost _immediately _be repaired, noticeably thicker than beforehand.

"You see that?" Chiyo asked, "that's your Quirk. In response to tears in your muscles, your body supercharges the muscle growing process; large muscles encourage testosterone production, which promotes more muscle growth; it's a self-perpetuating cycle!"

Izuku's brain was in overdrive; '_All these years… I've had a Quirk for all these years…'_

"Yours is a subtle one; its not something a doctor would find unless they were looking for it," she explained, "I'm sorry, Midoriya…"

'_She's… sorry?...' _Izuku thought, and then did something no one had expected.

He started laughing.

Joyous, uncontrollable laughing; "I have a Quirk…! I HAVE A QUIRK!" he bellowed, letting his joy fill the air.

Yagi was absolutely beaming; '_I knew it wasn't normal!' _

Izuku calmed down and asked; "so wait, could this promote some sort of regeneration effect as well?"

"Hm…" Chiyo pondered, "If it did, it would be very mild; scrapes, maybe some bruises, nothing past that."

Izuku looked down at his scarred hand; _'yea, I guess that makes sense…'_

"So, what're you gonna call it?"

He turned to Yagi; "Huh?"

"Your Quirk, what're you gonna call it? Everyone name's their Quirk. What's yours called?"

Izuku took a moment to think about it; _'What do I call it? Muscle Growth? No that's stupid. Supercharge? That's even worse!'_

Izuku racked his brain; _'It's not a particularly powerful Quirk on its own; but combined with some good training, and, if All Might described it right, One For All…'_

Izuku stopped, suddenly remembering a conversation he had with All Might a month ago:

"_**Honestly, as you are now, it seems you're the perfect vessel to carry One For All!"**_

'_That's it!'_

"Vessel," Izuku finally declared, "I'll call it Vessel.

* * *

**Izuku Midoriya! Quirk: Vessel!**

**In response to tears in one's muscle fibers, the body supercharges the muscle growing process, leading to rapid and massive muscle growth! Also allows for mild regeneration effects! **

**We've finally reached the fic's namesake, how exciting!**

**I have no idea if this idea has been used before in another story; if it has, I haven't read it, and I'm sorry I couldn't be more original.**

**I always wondered what explanation Izuku gave Inko during his 10 months of training; so to avoid that question here (doubly so due to Katsuki not being an ass) I wrote out that dinner scene! Hope you liked it.**

**Now, on to reviews! **

**SolSunFanfics: Something big did indeed happen!**

**TheGreatBubbaJ: He certainly is, isn't he :)**

**ALIE: Thank you so much! I'm so excited to share my story with you!**

**OMNISENSE95: If by "Enhanced Muscle Growth" you meant this, then you got it man, good job! Who's to say if the doctor was lying? ;)**

**maxridelover: Thank you so much!**

**That about covers it! And can I just say guys: Wow. Over 100 followers?! That's insane! I didn't think half that many people would be interested in this story, and yet here we are! I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart, truly!**

**As always, if you enjoyed, leave a review, follow, and favorite! Every single one makes me write (and plan) that much faster!**

**Next chapter: A clean beach and a new friend!**


	8. Creating a Friend

**Chapter 8, here we go!**

* * *

Creating a Friend

* * *

After checking for any other possible effects of his Quirk, Chiyo let Izuku and Yagi go.

"Now, you come back here if you have complications, especially with One For All!" she had said, " no telling what that'll do to you when you get it!"

"Thank you, Recovery Girl!" Izuku bowed, grateful; he had just received life-changing news, how could he not be?

She turned to Yagi; "You did good with this one, Toshinori, but don't go pushing him too hard, you hear?!" she warned, raising her cane threateningly.

"I-I won't!" He promised; even if he was the number one hero, that woman could be downright scary sometimes!

As the two made their way out of UA, Izuku had only one question on his mind; "Toshinori-sensei," he began, "what am I going to tell people now that I have a Quirk?"

Yagi sighed in his car seat; he had been expecting such a question, and had prepared for it; "Right now," he answered, "you don't tell them anything."

Izuku stared at his mentor; "What do you- I have to tell them!" he insisted; how could he not? Didn't they deserve to know?

"Think about it, Young Midoriya; in due time, you will receive One For All, and all the awesome power that comes with it," he explained, "you won't be able to hide that power, but you CAN hide this one."

He continued; "If you go around now, explaining what your Quirk is, and suddenly develop super-strength a month later, people are going to be suspicious," he reasoned, pulling in front of Izuku's apartment building, "I have a story ready for you to use once you've inherited One For All; I'm asking that you trust me, and promise that you'll keep your Quirk between us for now, ok?"

"But-" Izuku began to say, but the retort died on his lips; he was right, of course. Him having a Quirk would be a hard sell to begin with; revealing to have two, albeit somewhat similar, Quirks in the span of a few months? There would be questions that he couldn't answer if that was the case.

"I understand," he finally relented, "I promise I won't tell anyone about Vessel."

"Thank you," Yagi said, breathing a sigh of relief; he had worried the boy's excitement would cause complications, but he seemed to understand the nuances of his situation well.

"Will we still be training at the beach?" Izuku asked, "Or was that just an excuse to see if I had a Quirk?"

Yagi laughed, "Oh yes, Young Midoriya, you will still be cleaning that beach, that was not a lie; I hope you're not getting cold feet!"

Izuku shook his head; "No sir!" he exclaimed, stepping out of the car; "So same time tomorrow?"

For a brief moment, All Might inflated, giving a thumb up; "**You got it!"**

VVV

Izuku managed to keep his promise, if just barely; while he understood the need for secrecy, he found sometimes found his excitement almost too much to bear!

If he had been spending as much time with Katsuki as he had been previously, he may have slipped, but both boys found themselves much more busy than they had been in their lives; Izuku with Yagi, and Katsuki with his "American Dream Plan." Both still talked at school, and texted when they could (usually late in the afternoon as they prepared for bed); they acknowledged that, while it wasn't ideal, getting into UA was the top priority. Socializing could wait until after.

Most of Izuku's time was spent at Dagobah Beach; although he believed cleaning up the place was an admirable goal, he had other motives; the faster he could get it done, the faster he could receive One For All. He wanted as much time to get acquainted with the Quirk as he could before UA's entrance exam, and that meant finishing here as fast as he could; he was even cleaning without Yagi present, something that the pro hero didn't mind.

'_Good to see he has initiative!' _he had thought.

Izuku also spent a lot of time analyzing his own Quirk; reflecting on his life with the knowledge that Vessel was within him the entire time made a lot of things make sense, but also raised a lot of questions.

'_Is there a limit to the amount of muscle I can build? Is it even possible for me to overwork them? If I do have a form of regeneration, how powerful is it?" _he wondered.

But those answers could come later; it had been two months since he learned of Vessel, and after getting to Dagobah Beach nice and early, he had finally done it. All the trash was gone.

It was time to receive his reward.

VVV

The sun had yet to rise when Yagi parked near Dagobah Beach; he was early, but enjoyed the ever-clearing view of the sunrise.

'_Young Midoriya should be here soon; he's made such progress!' _he thought, approaching the beach proper. He had expected Izuku to finish quickly, but even he was surprised at the pace he was working!

'_At this rate, he'll finish before the month's out! That'll leave plenty of time fo-'_

His thoughts were stopped dead in their tracks as he got a good look at the shore itself; "Hey, hey, hey…" he said in shock.

Dagobah Beach, once considered a dumping ground for the local's trash, was absolutely spotless! The only trash that remained was piled into a massive heap, which Izuku sat upon.

'_How did he manage this?! I knew he was working fast but…'_

"Oh my… Oh my… **GOODNESS!" **All Might exclaimed, inflating into his hero form.

This got Izuku's attention; "All Might-sensei!" he greeted, carefully climbing down his trash pile.

All Might approached him; **"I have to say, Young Midoriya, my expectations were already high, but you've managed to completely blow past them! How on earth did you manage to do this so quickly? You weren't THAT close yesterday!"**

His successor blushed; "I worked late last night and early in the morning! I wanted to go beyond my limits!"

The hero smiled at him; _**'There's not doubt. You are a worthy successor, Young Midoriya!'**_

"**Well," **All Might said, **"Its time then, for you to receive One For All!"**

Izuku beamed, the faltered slightly; "Y'know… receiving your power… My Quirk… I can't help feel I'm cheating a little. I'm so lucky…"

All Might laughed, **"Nonsense, my boy! Even before you met me, you've been training to become a hero all your life!" **he ran his hand through one of tuffs of stuck up air, plucking a strand, **"And while your Quirk may have helped, it would be nothing without your hard work!"**

All Might held the hair out in front of him; **"Someone told me this once: there is a difference between being lucky, and deserving; one is an accident, the other a reward! Never get the two confused. You earned this power, through your efforts!"**

Izuku regained his smile; '_He's right, I worked hard for this!'_

He nodded; "You're right All Might! I'm ready to become your successor!"

"**Good! Now…" **he handed the hair to Izuku, **"Eat this!"**

Izuku stared blankly at him; "Huh!?"

"**In order to inherit my power, you need to consume my DNA! This is the least gross way of doing it!" **All Might explained.

"This isn't exactly what I expected…" Izuku admitted, hesitantly taking the hair putting it in his mouth.

'_Uhh… even if this is the best option, its still gross!' _he lamented, swallowing the hair.

"**Good job! It'll take some time for the hair to digest, so how about we get rid of that trash heap?" **All Might suggested.

"Right!"

VVV

After several hours of work, all the trash was loaded onto trucks and hauled off to the dump; now the beach was truly a sight to behold!

"Good job, Young Midoriya," All Might praised, long having reverted to his skinny form. He checked his watch, "alright, its time. You should have access to One For All."

Izuku looked at his hands, clenching his fists; "Are you sure, All Might? I don't feel any different." He pointed out.

"That's to be expected; its not a power that is passive; you have to draw from it, use it," Yagi explained.

"Well, how do I do that?"

Yagi thought about it, '_Hm. When I received One For All, I was able to call upon it almost instinctually; is it not the same for him?'_

He sighed; "well, what I do is clench both my butt cheeks, and yell 'SMASH' from the bottom of my heart; try that?"

Izuku took a stance, facing the ocean; '_here goes nothing…'_

He reeled his fist back, tightening his behind; "SMASHHHH!" he yelled, throwing his fist forward.

The lack of any effect disappointed him greatly.

"Any other suggestions, Toshinori-sensei?" he asked, frowning

The hero rubbed his chin; "well, try imagining situations in your life where you'd want One For All's power; visualize it, immerse yourself in your feelings during that moment."

Izuku nodded, and closed his eyes; immediately, his mind drifted towards the Sludge Villain incident, and even that spike guy in the alley when he was a kid; how helpless he felt, how badly he wanted to save them…

How much he wanted to be a hero.

Then he felt it; an unfamiliar heat rose in his right arm; opening his eyes, he saw his arm glowing, with vein-like red lines crossing it. Green lightning crackled against his skin; it felt good.

Izuku reeled back his arm once again, lurching it forward; "SMASHHHHH!" he screamed once again.

This time, rather than a normal punch, a huge gust of wind followed Izuku's fist; the sand around him kicked up, and the sea split considerably. Izuku's arm was smoking; it hurt, but not enough to stop his smile.

"I did it! I did it Toshinori-sensei!" he exclaimed.

Yagi was beaming; _'That was powerful for a first try! Probably a forty percent smash, from the looks of it.'_

He approached his student; "Good job, Young Midoriya! How're you feeling?" he asked.

Izuku grimaced a bit; "My arm hurts a little, but it's not too bad!"

"That's to be expected," Yagi explained, "the more you use it, the more accustomed to One For All's power you'll become."

He continued; "However, judging by your arm, its best if you don't go above what you just did, at least for a while; if you did, you may end up hurting yourself."

Izuku nodded; "Any tips for avoiding that?"

The hero thought a bit; "well, a visual may help you?" he suggested.

'_A visual? Hm…' _He remembered the heat rising in his arm; it almost felt like…

"A microwave!" Izuku exclaimed, "It's like an egg in a microwave, turn the power on too high and it'll explode!"

Yagi raised on eyebrow at him; "That's a pretty weird visual, but if it works…" he gave a thumbs up, "then go for it!"

Suddenly, All Might inflated into his hero form; **"Now, give me a few more smashes, newbie!" **he commanded.

"Yes, sir!"

VVV

By the time the two were done training, the sun was setting, Izuki covered in a thin layer of sweat.

"Wow," he said, "One For All really takes it out of you! Every movement is like its own workout!"

"Yes," Yagi replied, "that is something we'll be spending the remaining seven months improving on! Can't get into UA if you can't use your Quirk effectively!" he warned.

That reminded Izuku; "Toshinori-sensei!" he exclaimed, "now that I have One For All, can I tell my mom and Kacchan I have a Quirk?"

'_Oh! I had almost forgotten!' _Yagi thought; "Yes, although it's probably best if I'm there as well; do you think you could get the two of them here sometime tomorrow?"

"Mom should be no problem, but I don't know about Kacchan; let me call him," he said, pulling out his phone; quickly, he called Katsuki.

"Kacchan!"

"_Izuku, what is it? I was in the middle of a workout!'_

A workout? But that didn't make sense…

"Kacchan, it's a rest day! Have you been overdoing it?!"

There was silence on the other line, before Katsuki gave a reluctant _"Maybe."_

"That's not healthy!" Izuku admonished, "You'll do more harm than good doing that!"

"_I know I know!"_

"Then stick to the plan!" he commanded.

"_Yea, I'll think about it mom. So, did you call just to lecture me?"_

Izuku remembered the reason he called; "No, Kacchan, there's something I need to show you. Do you know Dagobah Beach?"

"_That dump?" _Katsuki questioned, "_What the hell could you have to show me there?" _

"Just trust me!" Izuku exclaimed, "And I know you can make it, since you need a rest day!"

"_Fine, fine, just give me a time and I'll be there." _Katsuki relented.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow, four-o-clock?"

"_Yea that's fine; see you then Izuku."_

Katsuki hung up the phone; "Alright, he's coming! But what exactly are we gonna say to them?" Izuku asked.

"Just leave it to me, Young Midoriya," Yagi assured, "I have the perfect story…"

VVV

The next day, Izuku, along with Inko and Katsuki, made their way to Dagobah Beach.

"I still don't understand why we need to go all the way to Dagobah, Izuku," Inko said, trudging along; she wasn't in bad shape, maintaining her thin frame into her early forties, but she was no athlete!

"Gotta agree with your mom, Izuku, you better have a damn good reason to dragging us to a junkyard!" Katsuki warned.

Izuku couldn't help but smile; they were in for quite the surprise!

"Just trust me, please," Izuku assured, seeing the beach in the distance; "We're here!"

What Katsuki and Inko were expecting was mountains upon mountains of trash; instead, they were met with spotless white sand and a beautiful shoreline.

They were awestruck, to say the least.

"What the… What happened? Last I was here it was a mess…" Inko asked.

"That would be Young Midoriya's work, Midoriya-san," Yagi revealed, walking up behind them.

"Oh! Mr. Toshinori! Izuku didn't tell us you were coming…"

"That was at my request; it's nice to see you again, Midoriya-san," he turned to Katsuki, "Young Bakugo, I trust your training is going well?"

Katsuki gave him a grin; "Yea it is! Your plan was really kicking my ass at first, but its gotten better."

Inko cut in; "I'm sorry Mr. Toshinori, but did you say Izuku cleaned all this up?"

Yagi smiled; "Yes he did, and exceptionally fast. I might add! It was the first step in his training."

Izuku blushed at the praise; they didn't talk about this!

"So, Izuku, did you drag us out here to brag then?" Katsuki teased with a smile.

Yagi motioned for Izuku to walk with him as he moved to the shore; "I'm afraid not, Young Bakugo; you see, we… discovered something quite incredible during Young Midoriya's training;" he turned to Izuku, "if you would show them?"

Izuku took a deep breath; _'this is it…' _he thought, feeling the heat rise in his arm.

Inko and Katsuki watched, speechless, as they saw Izuku flood his arm with One For All; their jaws practically dropped to the floor when they saw him throw a punch towards the sea.

"SMASH!" Izuku yelled, jolting up a hefty amount of sand around them; the trio of onlookers covered their eyes from the assault.

When the air was finally clear, Katsuki was the first to speak; "What in the FUCK was that Izuku?!"

Inko wasn't quite as… visceral in her response.

"Izuku…" she said, approaching her son, "you… you have a Quirk?"

He gave her a sheepish smile; "I-I guess so?"

Yagi took the opportunity to speak up; "It developed in the middle of his training, so I took him to a specialist," he explained, "They believe that Young Midoriya's Quirk didn't manifest sooner because his body couldn't handle it. Now it can." He gave a quick bow; "I apologize for not informing you sooner, Midoriya-san."

If Inko heard him, she didn't acknowledge it, instead, she embraced her son in a hug.

"Izuku… I'm so happy for you!"

Inko was no fool; she knew her son, no matter how much he trained, how much optimism he possessed, would always be at a disadvantage without a Quirk. No matter how unfair it might be, and how supportive she was, his chances of being a hero were always slim.

Now, that wasn't a concern.

"Thank you, mom…" Izuku replied, breaking the hug. He turned to Katsuki, gauging his reaction; so far, he seemed neutral to the whole thing, though his hands were clenched so tight his knuckles were white.

"You… had a Quirk? An amazing one? All this time…" he muttered, teeth clenched.

"Kacchan, I'm sorry; if I knew I wouldv-"

"You're sorry!?" Katsuki screamed; Yagi went to intervene, but was stopped by Inko; "Let them," she said.

"I should be SORRY!" he insisted, "I tormented you for YEARS because you didn't have a Quirk; I felt shitty enough about that as is! Now, you mean to tell me, that I couldn't even excuse it with my shitty reasoning!"

Izuku looked at his friend in horror; _'I thought we moved past this… though I suppose we never really talked about it…'_

While he and Katsuki had grown to be friends, even best friends, they both avoided speaking about their relationship before then; Izuku had thought it was unnecessary; the past was the past, it wasn't like they could change it. He assumed Katsuki felt the same way; now he realized the truth:

He was ashamed.

"You should HATE ME! Like I HATED YOU! FOR YEARS!" Katsuki ranted, heat rising in his palms; "I DON'T UNDERSTAND WH-"

He was cut off by Izuku; not with a punch, not even with words.

With a hug.

"Kacchan…" he whispered, "I forgave you, a long time ago for all that…"

Katsuki was blinking back tears now; "Why?..."

Izuku smiled; "Because you're my best friend, Kacchan… And I want you to forgive yourself!"

He cracked a grin; '_Classic Izuku… always worrying about other people.'_

He didn't know if I could forgive himself, not quite yet; but it was then, he resolved, that he'd start to try.

VVV

The three parted ways shortly after their little moment; neither could even begin to guess the truth of Izuku's Quirk, just as he and All Might intended.

With his mom and Katsuki partially let in on his secret, Izuku began the process of officially registering his Quirk; in the eyes of the law, Izuku Midoriya was no longer Quirkless.

For four more months, Izuku trained daily with All Might in the use of One For All. It was hard work, but slowly he was adjusting to the strain it put on his body; he figured he could use roughly forty-five percent before it became too much to bear.

With only three months before the entrance exam; Izuku was putting in extra work everyday to hone his body, usually at the Dagobah Beach, which had found itself receiving visitors for the first time in years. Today, he had planned to go on a brisk run up and down the shore.

It just so happened that a certain someone was also at the beach.

VVV

"Please, leave me alone before I contact the authorities!"

Momo Yaoyorozu was a woman of high stature, both literally and figuratively. Being born into a wealthy family of heroes, she stood at 5'8" and sported jet-black hair tied in a spiky ponytail with a single bang hanging on the side of her face. Her physique could best be described as mature, a fact that served as both a benefit and an annoyance.

Right now, it felt firmly as the later.

"C'mon baby, I just wanna talk; what's a beauty like you doing around here?" the teenage boy bothering her leered.

'_You can thank my father for that,' _she thought; he had business in Musutafu, and insisted she come along. Something about "quality father-daughter time."

Now her father was stuck in endless meetings, and she was left to wander the city on her own. Eventually, she came to a pleasant looking beach; _'a good a place as any to spend my time,' _she thought.

How wrong she turned out to be; "that's none of your concern, now if you'll excuse me," she waved, attempting to walk away, only to be stopped by a hand on her arm.

"I wasn't done talking to you, broad; now sit down and get comfy," he commanded.

Momo looked around the beach; there weren't many people around, and those that were seemed content to mind their own business.

'_You'd be on the ground right now if I could use my Quirk…' _she reasoned; the ability to create anything using her body's fat was a particularly powerful one, but the law was the law.

She attempted to pull her arm free, but his grip was tight; "Didn't you hear me, lady? I said sit do-"

He was cut off by a muscular hand grabbing his wrist and forcing him off Momo's arm; _'finally, someone took notice!' _

Izuku stared at the boy; "I don't think she wants you touching her."

"Oh yea? And what're you gonna do about it?"

"Nothing," Izuku said, glare hardening, "as long as you leave."

The man laughed; "well I ain't leaving, so you can just walk awa-"

He never got to finish, as Izuku quickly swept the feet out from under him, knocking him to the ground.

Channeling a small among of One For All in his leg, Izuku stomped on the ground, creating a small crater; "Leave."

The boy didn't need to be told twice, quickly scampering off down the shore.

Izuku turned to Momo; "Are you alright? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

She shook her head; "No, I'm fine; thank you though. I was starting to wonder if he would ever leave," she stuck out her hand, "I'm Momo Yaoyorozu."

"Izuku Midoriya," he greeted, shaking her hand; "I don't think I've seen you around here, did you just move here?"

She shook her head; "No, no. I'm just visiting with my father, but he's busy so… I'm alone," she lamented.

Izuku frowned; "Oh, I'm sorry," he said; "If you'd like, I could show you around? I'd offer a swim, but you don't seem dressed for the beach!" he joked

Momo smiled; '_Well, he seems nice enough… and he's a big guy, would probably keep any creeps away…'_

"I'd like that," she replied, "lead the way!"

Izuku led her around Musutafu, showing her all the noteworthy sights he could think of; eventually, the duo grew hungry, and stopped at a local ramen shop.

"So," she asked, swallowing her food, "what that Quirk you used on the beach?"

"Hm? Oh! That was Vessel; it's nothing fancy, just an enhancement type Quirk," he explained, taking a bite; not a complete lie, but not really the truth either.

"Well it certainly seemed powerful," she commented, "you kicked up quite a bit of sand with your leg; it must come in handy a lot, but you know its illegal to use it in public right?"

Izuku averted his eyes; "yea, I know but… you needed help, and that guy wasn't gonna go away without a bit of force, y'know?"

"I guess so; still, you should be a little more careful with that," she warned.

"I know, I will," he swore; "what about you? What's your Quirk?"

She blushed slightly; "I call it Creation; I can make any non-living object from the fat in my cells, as long as I know how it's made," she explained.

"Wow! That sounds amazing!" Izuku exclaimed, "there are so many applications for a Quirk like that! You could do anything you wanted…"

Her blushed deepened; "T-thank you…"

After finishing their meal, Izuku decided to take Momo to the one place he hadn't yet: the park, where he had spent so much of his childhood.

"Wow… its so pretty out here!" she observed, strolling with him; the sun was beginning to set, casting an orange glow on the grass and trees.

Izuku smiled; "you don't get out much, do you?" He teased.

She frowned a bit; "my mother is very strict… she only allows me to do urgent things, which include studying and training my Quirk…" she paused, "I don't have many friends…"

His smile faltered; "I'm sorry…" he said sincerely; _'I know what that's like…' _

Momo waved it off; "Its not your fault, besides its not all bad; all that training means I'll be a great hero one day!"

Izuku's eyes widened; "You wanna be a hero too?"

"Of course, all my life," she replied; "you want to be a hero?"

"More than anything," he said resolutely, "I used to train here every day, all so I could be the best!" He turned to her, "What school are you going for?"

"UA; only the best, as mother says," she answered.

Izuku grinned at her; "Maybe we'll see each other at the entrance exam then!"

Momo frowned again; _'do I tell him? He seems to work so hard, and yet…'_

"Yaoyorozu? Are you ok?"

She snapped back to reality, meeting his eyes; "actually… I already got into UA… via recommendations…"

What was at one time a source of pride for her quickly became something she wished to hide; whenever she did tell people, they often accused her of "cheating," or only getting in because of her parents; she had to work hard too! And now she was gonna hear the same thing again…

"Wow. You must be more amazing than I thought!"

What?

"Huh?" she said, confused.

"I mean, it can't be easy, getting in on a recommendation," he clarified, "you must be really talented!"

Momo was shocked; no one had that reaction before, hell no one has ever said something so _kind _before, not without expecting something back.

"I- That's too much, I'm really nothing special…"

"Nonsense!" Izuku exclaimed, "you seem really special to me!"

Realizing what he had just said, a blush creeped across his face; '_Was that too forward?'_

'_He… he really means that?'_

"…you seem special too, Midoriya," she admitted. She checked her watch, gasping at the sight; she had completely lost track of time!

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "but I really have to go!" She turned to leave, then stopped, pulling out a pen and small notepad; quickly, she wrote something down and handed it to him.

"Here, its my phone number," she explained, "text me sometime?"

Izuku looked down; "Of course, Yaoyorozu!" he exclaimed, his blush growing redder.

She began to walk away, only to stop one more time; "please," she requested, "call me Momo!"

* * *

**And that's a wrap!**

**First girl has appeared, Momo! This seemed like the easiest time to introduce her that wasn't at UA, which I wanted to do for a variety of reasons. I hope the interactions between the two were good, I wished to keep her character intact; a confident air, clouding an insecure center. **

**Speaking of, I hope Izuku's and Katsuki's little "interaction" was up to snuff; I couldn't very well have him reveal a Quirk and have Kacchan be just A-OK with it, y'know?**

**Yea, Izuku's not going all out with One For All, not yet; don't worry, we'll have plenty of badass moments with him without going 100%; I have a possibly stupid idea to get around that, which you will be privy to next chapter!**

**Now, the reviews!**

**tiguylerobot: A valid point, one I hope I addressed this chapter!**

**MIKE202303: Thank you!**

**ProjectIceman: Interesting! I gave a few chapters a read, and it seems really good! Not exactly where I went with it, but I can see the vague similarities.**

**Beingwithu: GG indeed!**

**OMNISENSE95: Well we'll just have to see, now won't we ;)**

**maxridelover: Thank you, I like it too (though I might be a bit biased)!**

**ALIE: You're too kind, really!**

**fencer29: Funny you should mention that, originally, I was gonna have it be a kinda big deal, but cut it. Your review inspired me to bring it back in a small way :)**

**TheGreatBubbaJ: That's exactly what he did!**

**That about covers it; I don't know how many of you read this, but over 100 favorite a week in to the story is absolutely insane to me; I don't know how that compares to the average, and frankly I don't care. Its so humbling so many have taken an interest, and I'll try to meet your expectations. **

**As always, review, follow, and favorite! Those are a writers main sources of sustenance! **

**Next chapter: The entrance exam!**


	9. The Essence of a Hero!

**Chapter 9, actually this time! Note to self, dont post chapterrs wile sleep deprived! important news at the end!  
**

* * *

**The Essence of a Hero!**

* * *

"**That's enough, Young Midoriya, take a rest."**

It had been a little under three months since Izuku had met Momo; while they hadn't had the chance to meet again since that day, they texted consistently; topics of conversation ranged from current events to Quirk training. He had to admit, it felt nice to be able to talk to someone other than Katsuki; he appreciated his best friend dearly, but female companionship evoked different feelings altogether.

Most of his time had been spent training with All Might; at first, it was simply getting adjusted to All For One: being able to call upon it consistently, maintaining its power level, and the regulating it when full force wasn't needed. When he had gown proficient in that, Yagi had suggested he use training weights from now on; "If you can move with these on," he had said, "you'll be all the more agile with them off."

Now, however, All Might had moved on to the next step: combat training.

Izuku stood himself up out of the sand; "I can keep going! One more round, please All Might?"

Yagi deflated, shaking his head; "No, Young Midoriya," he commanded, sitting down on the shore, "come, we need to talk."

Midoriya obeyed, taking a seat next to his mentor; "is this about our fights? I'm sorry I haven't been able to beat you yet, but I'm trying, really!"

"No, no, you're doing fine; in fact, you're doing better than I thought you would," Yagi assured.

It was true; while Izuku simply could not keep pace with All Might's sheer strength and speed, Yagi was surprised to find that he knew how to fight, and rather well. When asked about it, Izuku waved it off, something about "having a good teacher;" he didn't seem inclined to share who, and Yagi didn't press the issue.

Izuku smiled at the praise; "Thank you, Toshinori-sensei! But, what did you want to talk about?" He asked.

Yagi stared out to the ocean; the sun had almost set, the darkness of the night creeping on them. "UA's entrance exam is in a week, I wanted to know how you were feeling about it."

Izuku furrowed his brow; "I guess I'm feeling pretty good? I haven't mastered One For All yet but, I think I have enough to pass; what do you think, Toshinori-sensei?"

He laughed; "Young Midoriya, you could have passed the entrance exam months ago if need be; at this point, I have no doubt you'll do excellent," he commended, "which is why I want you to take the next week off of training."

Izuku gaped at him; "What? Isn't this when I should be training the most? The final push before the big day?"

Yagi shook his head; "You've been training all your life young man; when was the last time you took more than a day or two of rest?"

Izuku thought for a moment; "I guess it has been a long time…" he admitted. Due to his Quirk, he never felt the need to take "rest days" to recover; in truth, he wasn't sure he _had_ taken an extended rest from exercise since he started; even when he injured his hand, he had been allowed runs.

"Exactly," Yagi pointed out, "I want you to enjoy some time with your mother and friends; we can continue your training after you get into UA."

He looked to the hero; he seemed resolute in his decision. "Ok, Toshinori-sensei; I'll try to take it easy," he promised.

"Good," Yagi smiled, "I won't be around to check up on you; I have some… business to attend to," he explained.

Izuku perked his head up; "Oh? Like what?" Izuku asked.

"Just some hero business, nothing to be concerned about," he assured.

'_You'll find out the truth soon enough, Young Midoriya.'_

"If you say so," he said, looking down at this watch; "it's getting late, I should probably head home."

Yagi stood up, offering his hand to his successor. For a brief moment, he inflated into his hero form; **"Good luck, Young Midoriya! Be the hero I know you to be!"**

He took the hero's massive hand with a smile; "Yes, sir!"

VVV

Izuku kept his promise to Yagi; no training and no exercise. It wasn't easy, of course; he had developed a system over the years, and found it difficult to pass the large blocks of time he now had, but he managed.

Initially, he had tried to set up another meeting with Momo, only to be met with an unhappy "_I'm sorry Izuku, but I can't this week; I have to accompany my parents to a variety of fundraisers." _

Her referring to him by his given name never failed to make him blush.

"_But after I'm done with that, I'd love to see you again, hear about the exam! I've missed you!"_

He wasn't sure if she knew just how much that meant to him

After agreeing to meet as soon as they could, Izuku attempted the same with Katsuki; he was much more pliable when it came to hang out. It helped that he only lived a few short minutes away.

"So, how'd your training go?" Katsuki had asked the day before the exam, "get a good handle on your Quirk?"

Izuku shrugged; "good enough. Toshinori-sensei says I still have a ways to go, but it should be enough to get me through the exam."

"Guess that's to be expected," he commented, "only learned you had one, what? Seven months ago?"

"Something like that," Izuku guessed. Truly, it felt like only yesterday he inherited One For All; where had all the time gone?

"What about you, how'd all your training go?"

Katsuki rubbed the back of his head; "It was pretty good but… I don't know how much it helped me with my Quirk, it was mainly physical shit, y'know? I'm definitely stronger but," he paused.

Izuku flashed him a smile; "You don't gotta worry about that, Kacchan! You've always had a good handle on your Quirk, and I'm sure its only gotten better."

He smirked, giving Izuku a light shove on the shoulder. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, nerd," he looked up over the park; "so, tomorrows the day."

"Yep. Are you ready?"

Katsuki smirked; "I was born ready!"

'_That's the Kacchan I know!'_

"And you better be too! I swear if I get into UA and you don't, I'll really roast your ass!" he jokingly threatened.

He had been doing that a lot more lately, not that Izuku minded; the way he saw it, it meant Katsuki was finally moving past all that stuff from their childhood.

Izuku stood up, fists balled; "I'll do my best, Kacchan!" he exclaimed. Izuku looked to the setting sun; "We should get home, get a goods night sleep. Wanna head to the exam together?"

As if that was even a question; "you know it!"

VVV

Izuku woke up bright and early the next day, taking his time in getting ready. By the time he was showered and dressed, his mother had finished breakfast for him.

With breakfast done, Izuku readied to leave, but not without a word from his mother.

"Izuku…" She said at the door, "I want you to know, no matter what happens… I'm so proud of you honey."

She was trying to hide it, but she was clearly holding back tears.

"Mom…" He enveloped her in a hug, "Thank you. I couldn't have made it this far without you!"

Inko wiped her eyes; "Nonsense honey… you were always gonna be a hero… I was just smart enough to see it."

VVV

"So… this is UA."

Izuku and Katsuki stood just outside of UA, watching as hundreds of people marched towards the doors to the main building; this was it, everything they had spent the last year, no, they're lives, preparing for.

In front of them, stood their future.

"Yep… it's a lot bigger than I thought." Izuku observed; a lie, as he had been here long before, but he couldn't let Katsuki know that.

"No kidding, lot more people than I thought too…" A grin spread across his face, "all the more people for us to crush, eh Izuku?"

Izuku rolled his eyes, walking forward; "lets try to remember why we're here, eh Kacchan? To be heroes?" He reminded.

"Yea, yea, I'm only kidding! Mostly…" Then, Katsuki had a sinister idea take form in his head.

"Hey Izuku…" He bolted forward, "Race ya!" he yelled back to his friend.

Izuku grinned, breaking into a run. However, he didn't get very far; in his haste, he neglected to notice a slight divot in the ground, causing him to trip.

'_Well, guess I'll die.'_

As he prepared for his face to meet the ground, he suddenly felt himself stop in midair. Slightly panicked, he looked around to see a girl next to him, readjusting his body; "Are you alright?" she asked.

When Izuku was upright again, she touched her fingertips together; "Release!" she said, and he felt the weight of gravity return to him.

"Thank you for that," he instinctually said, flashing her a smile.

"Oh, its no problem!" She insisted. "Sorry for using my Quirk on you without asking first but, it'd be bad luck if you fell, right?"

"Yea, definitely" He answered, blushing slightly, "I'm Izuku Midoriya, what's your name?"

"Ochaco Uraraka, it's a pleasure to meet you!"

Ochaco was a short girl, sporting brown hair and a petite build. Her face consisted of two large brown eyes and pink marks on her cheeks. Her hair was shoulder length, with two longer clumps framing her face. On each of her fingers was a pink pad, necessary for her Quirk

Overall, very cute.

"The pleasure's all mine!" Izuku responded. "Are you nervous about today?" he asked, walking alongside her.

"Yes! Who isn't? It's the biggest day of our lives, I'm terrified!" She admitted.

Izuku chuckled; "Well with a Quirk like that, I don't think you have much to worry about; what is it, anyway?

"I call it Zero Gravity; I touch something with five of these little pads on my fingers, and it becomes weightless." She explained.

"Wow, that sounds really cool!" he exclaimed, "It'd be really useful for rescue work especially, but the combat options are numerous as well…"

Ochaco blushed slightly; "Thank you… What about you, what's your Quirk?"

Izuku blinked; "Oh, its nothing special. I call it Vessel, its just a strength enhancement Quirk." He explained.

"Is that why you're so… big?" she bluntly questioned.

He laughed; "That's part of it, yea." They came up on the auditorium; "Well, this is our stop, good luck Uraraka!" he encouraged, going to find his seat.

"You too, Midoriya!" She waved.

'_I wonder if I'll see him again…'_

VVV

When he found his seat, he was happy to find himself next to Katsuki.

"Hey man, where'd you disappear to, I never beat you in races." He grilled.

"I got caught up, sorry about that." Izuku whispered; "Looks like we're starting."

On stage walked Hizashi Yamada, hero name Present Mic. Hizashi was a tall man with long blonde hair, put up in one massive spike. He had a tiny mustache, and perpetually wore yellow sunglasses. His most defining trait, however, was his voice: loud, bright, and, when need be, painful.

"To all my listeners just tuning in," he started, "welcome to my show! Everybody say hey!"

Silence filled the room.

"What a refined response! Well then, I'll quickly give you all a rundown on the practical exam! Are you ready?!"

The silence returned, somehow even quieter than before.

"Wow, Present Mic!" Izuku muttered, "He's just like he sounds on the radio, huh Kacchan?"

"He's even more obnoxious, if you ask me." He replied.

Hizashi continued; "Like it said in the application requirements, you listeners will be conducting ten-minute mock urban battles after the written portion of the exam!" A variety of letters appeared on the screen behind him; "You can bring anything you want, just make sure you head into the specific battle centers, alright?"

Izuku and Katsuki both looked down at their exam tickets; "Looks like they won't be letting friends work together…" Izuku observed. Despite being from the same school, both he and Katsuki were assigned to different battle centers.

"Makes sense," Katsuki replied, "can't always be relying on your friends with hero work."

"Three different types of mock villains are located around the battle centers!" Hizashi explained. "You earn points based on how difficult the villain is to take down! All you have to do, listeners, is use your Quirks to destroy or immobilize as many faux villains as you can! And of course, attacking any fellow examinees, along with any other unheroic activity, is strictly prohibited, and will result in a failing grade!"

Before he could continue, a tall boy with glasses rocketed out of his seat, hand raised in the air. "Excuse me!" he shouted, "May I ask a question?!"

"Okay!"

"On the official printout, there are four villains!" He pointed out. "If this is a misprint, then UA, the most prominent hero school in Japan, should be ashamed of such a foolish mistake! We examinees are here because we wish to be molded into exemplary heroes!"

He stopped, suddenly pointing to Izuku and Katsuki; "And you two! You two have been talking this entire time. It's distracting. If you're here as a joke, you should leave immediately!"

Izuku simply raised an eyebrow at him, while Katsuki was glaring daggers; _'Who the hell does he think he is?'_

Snickering could be heard around the auditorium, which Hizashi quickly dispelled; "Alright, alright, Examinee Number 7111! Thanks for the great question! The fourth villain is worth zero points! In other words, he's an obstacle! There is one in every battle center, and it'll go crazy in narrow spaces! It's not impossible to defeat, but there's no real reason to, either. I recommend everyone just avoid it!"

He looked to the boy in glasses; "Does that answer your question?"

The boy bowed; "Yes! Thank you very much! Please excuse the interruption!" he said, sitting back down.

"Man, this whole thing is set up like a video game…" One of the examinees noted.

"Well, that's all from me!" Hizashi announced; "Finally, I'll give you listeners a present- our school motto! As famous general Napoleon Bonaparte once said, 'A true hero is one who overcomes life's misfortunes.' Go beyond! Plus Ultra!" He bowed; "Good luck everybody!"

Izuku looked to Katsuki; "Well Kacchan this is it; good luck!" he said.

Katsuki scoffed; "Me and you, Izuku, we don't need luck. We're ready for this!"

And with that, both got up, making their way to their testing centers.

VVV

Izuku had been religiously preparing for the written exam for years now. It was notoriously hard, with many students with promising Quirks being denied entry for failing it. Its hard to remember sometimes that UA isn't _just _a hero school; you have to be exemplary in all fields in order to even be considered.

It covered your basic subjects; math, Japanese, science, history, even a bit of English, all things Izuku studied; what truly surprised him was the last section; Quirk analysis.

It was simple; you were given a Quirk, and asked to list its strengths, weaknesses, and how to compensate for them. That wasn't what wasn't very surprising; it seemed like a fairly normal thing to ask of prospective students.

What _did _surprise Izuku was that he was certain that Shota had asked him these very same questions when he was training under him.

'_Is this where Shota got those questions?' _Izuku thought, but quickly refocused; he could ponder his first teacher's originality later, right now, he had Quirks to analyze.

Or rather, reanalyze.

VVV

'_I definitely passed that, and knowing Kacchan, he did too,' _Izuku thought, walking toward the bus to his battle center. He was confident in all his answers; dare he say, he may have even aced it!

When he got on the bus, he noticed Uraraka sitting alone near the back; quickly he made his way to her. "Uraraka!" he greeted.

"Midoriya! C'mere, sit next to me!" she requested, scooching over a little.

He sat down, smiling at her; "I guess we're in the same battle center! That's so cool!" He exclaimed.

"I know!" she agreed, face wide in a smile. "How do you think you did on the written exam? 'Cause English really killed, never mind those Quirk questions!" she lamented.

Izuku chuckled, rubbing the back of his head; "I think I did ok…" he said, trying to sound humble. "And I'm sure you did great!"

"Thank you, I appreciate that…" she said. Just as he was about to respond, the bus lurched to a stop; "I guess we're here," he noted, standing up. Ochaco was quick to follow.

When both got off, they were met with a gigantic metal door, leading to what could only be described an entire city block, maybe a few, all walled off.

"Wow…" Ochaco awed, "This must've cost a fortune…"

"No kidding…" Izuku agreed, "And they've got a ton of them…"

Izuku saw Ochaco had started doing a variety of stretches, and decided to join her; '_This is it… time to give everything I've got… I can't let everyone down. Time to become the hero I've always wanted to be!' _he thought, thinking of all the people who were expecting great things from him.

He turned to Ochaco; he guessed they were going to start soon, and wanted to wish her luck one last time. As he approached her, however, he was stopped a hand on his shoulder, owned by the same boy who publicly called him and Katsuki out in the auditorium.

"That girl is trying to focus. Do you mean to distract her? If this is all a joke to you, you need to leave; there are people who actually want to be a hero here."

Ouch. That hurt.

However, before he could muster a response, a very angry Ochaco butted in; "Excuse me, but you don't have to be so mean!" she chastised. "He wasn't distracting me, he's my friend! Now I'd appreciate it if you'd apologize!"

'_I'm her friend? I'm her friend!'_

Before any more words could be exchanged, Hizashi's voice boomed over the crowd; "Alright! Go!"

That was all Izuku needed.

Quickly, he rushed to the opening door, the other examinees too surprised to move. As he entered the battle center, he quickly took in his surroundings; tall buildings lined the streets, with narrow alleys and paths running between them.

Other students were quickly pouring in; _'Gotta get moving' _Izuku thought, channeling One For All into his legs, '_no need to go all out and tire myself, yet.'_

He dashed forward, finding his first group of robots; three one pointers, and a two pointer.

'_Alright, this is it!'_ he thought, flooding his arms with power. He rushed forward, driving his fist through the robots with ease.

'_Alright, that's five points; gonna need a lot more than that!'_

He continued on, smashing whatever robots came into his view; he had a speed advantage over most the other examinees, but he couldn't be _everywhere._

He didn't know how much time had passed, but by Izuku's estimates, he was at fifty-seven points; _'Off to a good start…'_

Just as he was about to smash another one pointer, a brilliantly bright laser cut through it; _'what the?'_

"Thanks for distracting it!" the source of the laser, a blonde boy with an extravagant looking belt said in a French accent. "We make a pretty good team, no?"

Izuku smiled at him; "I'm sure we would, but I don't think this is a team exercise!" he said, dashing off to find more points.

"Six minutes left!" Hizashi announced, alarming many of the testers.

'_Six minutes… I can definitely get more points!' _

As he ran around, punching as he went, he passed by Ochaco, destroying robots by launching them in the air and dropping them to the ground.

"That's twenty-eight points!" she said after dropping her latest batch.

"Good job, Uraraka!" Izuku exclaimed as he ran by; he didn't hear a response, but he liked to think she appreciated it.

By his estimate, Izuku had earned ninety-six points now, and based on the numbers he was hearing, that was very good.

'_Alright, lets break one hundred!' _Izuku pledged, running off to find more enemies.

VVV

In a dark room somewhere on UA's campus, the staff watched the entrance exam on a wide number of screens; among them was Shota and Yagi

"In this practical exam, students haven't been told how many villains there are, or their locations," explained a small white animal, who looked to be a combination of a mouse, bear and dog.

This was Nezu, UA's extremely intelligent principal, and one of the rare few animals to be born with a Quirk.

"They have a limited amount of time in a large area," he continued, "They have to draw the villains to them."

"Information gathering ability, to understand the situation before anyone else," he said, pointing to a screen. On it was a large man with several tentacle-like appendages; at the ends of each was a different sensory organ, sniffing, looking, or hearing his surroundings as best they could.

"Mobility that can be used in many different circumstances," he continued, pointing to another screen showing the boy with glasses, with what seemed to be engines in his calves.

"Discernment to be able to stay calm in any situation," he listed, pointing to a screen showing the blonde boy with the naval laser, confidently firing at robots.

"And pure combat ability," he concluded, pointing to a screen showing Katsuki, palms smoking, amongst a pile of robotic rubble.

"Of course, the best students are able to combine all of these traits, for maximum effectiveness!" he said, pointing to a screen showing Midoriya, effortlessly running from robot to robot, destroying them with ease.

"Doesn't this year's group look promising?" One teacher said, "Especially that cute green-haired one…"

Shota's breath hitched a little hearing that. He leaned forward, looking at who she was speaking about; _'Could that be… no… It's impossible…'_

"Well, we can't know for sure," another teacher said, pushing a bright red button, "the real test, begins now."

VVV

Izuku was having the time of his life; _'one hundred and forty-six! That's gotta be some kind of record!'_

He didn't mean to sound boastful, but even he had to admit he was doing pretty damn well!

Suddenly, he felt the ground shake beneath him; looking up, he saw a huge plume of dust be kicked up.

'_What the hell is THAT?' _he questioned.

From the dust emerged a giant robot; slow, but clearly able to cause some damage. Already examinees were running from it.

'_That must be the zero-pointer, best get away from it; it doesn't look very fast, so as long as I keep my distance, I should be fine!' _Izuku reasoned.

"LESS THAN TWO MINUTES REMAINING"

Izuku made his way away from the giant robot; _'Two minutes, definitely more time to score more points, lets see if I can-'_

His thoughts were cut off by a faint noise, just barely audible amidst the chaos of the battle center: "Ow…"

Izuku quickly turned around to see Ochaco trapped under rubble, right in the path of the zero-pointer.

His rational brain told him that she isn't in any real danger; there's no way UA would let something like this run amok without some kind of failsafe to avoid serious injuries. That's what his rational brain knew.

But his rational brain wasn't in charge anymore.

Izuku immediately charged towards Ochaco, thoughts moving at a mile a minute; _'That thing is gonna kill her and oh god I don't have time to get her out I have to destroy it __**I have to destroy it!**__'_

He quickly analyzed the situation; _'No way I can get up to his head with my current power but...' _he eyed a nearby rooftop; not wasting anytime, he channeled One For All into his legs, jumping to the roof…

VVV

The teachers watched as Izuku leaped from the ground; _'There's absolutely no merit in taking on the faux villain…' _Yagi began.

'_What is that kid doing?...' _Shota questioned.

VVV

Izuku quickly leaped from the roof, surprising even Ochaco with his speed and height, towards the robot's head…

VVV

'_But that creates opportunity, for __**it**__ to shine brightly… and rise to the surface!' _

'_Is he insane?'_

VVV

While in the air, Izuku channeled One For All in both of his arms, reeling them back.

'_I really hope this works!'_

Feelings the intensity of the moment, he couldn't help but scream; "DOUBLE 50% DETROIT SMASHHHHH!"

Lurching both fists forward, both connected with the robot's head, knocking it back several feet; it began to tip, explosions happening across its chassis. Eventually, it became too much for it to bear, causing it to tip over on its back.

VVV

'_That's right, it rises to the surface- The essence of being a true hero: the spirit of self-sacrifice!'_

'_Yep… that's Midoriya alright.' _

VVV

The examinees of battle center B looked on in awe; they knew Izuku looks powerful, but none of them expected this.

"Man," one said, "why'd I have to be put in the same group as him?!"

When Izuku landed, he immediately ran to check on Ochaco. "Uraraka, are you ok? Are you hurt?"

She winced, feeling a familiar pain in her stomach; "yea, I'm fine I'm fine… Why did you do that?"

He was confused; "Do what?"

"That robot… its not worth any points, why did you waste your time to destroy it?..."

Izuku didn't hesitate to answer; "You looked like you needed help…"

The boy with the glasses, which had been watching the exchange, gasped quietly; _'Of course, if this wasn't an exam I would've… Wait… exam…'_

"But… you could've gotten more points…" she lamented.

He smiled; "Well hey, there's still time to-"

"TIME'S UP!"

He gave Ochaco a sheepish grin; "Well, I got enough points anyway." He extended a hand, which she took; "can you walk?" he asked, helping her up.

"I think so, but my ankles sprained pretty bad," she admitted.

"C'mon, let's get you to-"

"Good work, good work everybody!" a short woman said, passing out gummies.

'_Recovery Girl! Thank goodness!'_

"Excuse me! R- Ma'am!" he quickly corrected; _'Can't let anyone know we've met before.'_

Chiyo made her way to the two; "Any injuries, either of you?"

"She has a sprained ankle," Izuku answered, pointing to the injury.

Without word, Chiyo extended her lips, planting a kiss on Ochaco's forehead; "There, you should be all set to go!"

She turned to Izuku; "Good work, Midoriya," she praised, moving on to other students.

'_So much for that!' _

Ochaco tentatively put weight on her ankle, testing it; when assured it was healed, she turned to Izuku.

"You know her?"

"Uh, we've met once; it was a villain attack, she was the medic on duty, nothing major," he lied. "Why don't we get out of here?"

"Agreed," she said, following Izuku out of the battle center; they were among the first to return to the bus, quickly finding a seat.

When comfortable, she turned to him; "Thank you again, for saving me…"

Izuku gave her a smile; "Anytime, Uraraka!"

She played with her hair, a light blush spreading across her face; "You can call me Ochaco, if you want…"

He quickly found himself with a matching blush; "O-Ok, Ochaco," he stammered.

A comfortable silence formed between them, until the reached the front gate of UA. There, Izuku found Katsuki waiting for him.

"Izuku!" Katsuki called, ushering him over; "finally found your way here." He turned to Ochaco; "who's this?"

"Ochaco Uraraka," she introduced, "Are you Izuku's friend?"

"Best friend," he answered, eyeing her suspiciously.

She smiled; "Well any friend of Izuku's is a friend of mine!"

Katsuki looked to him; the mad blush on his face told him all he needed to know.

"Well, if he likes you, I guess you can't be that bad," he reasoned. "So Izuku, ready to head home?"

He nodded his head, turning to Ochaco; "You wanna come with us, Ochaco?"

"Y-" she began, but quickly stopped; "Actually, I… have to do something here. I'm sorry Izuku."

"Oh, It's alright. Here," he offered, handing her his phone, "give me your number and we can talk, yea?"

Ochaco nodded her head, "Right!" she said, quickly inputting her number.

The two boys left, leaving Ochaco to herself; determined, she set off inside UA's main building.

'_Now to find that announcer guy…'_

* * *

**And that's a wrap! **

**This was a very fun chapter to right; I have no idea whether throwing two punches like that would be roughly equal to one 100% smash, but for the sake of things lets say it's **_**around **_**there.**

**Ochaco's introduced! She's a very cute character, but mean when she wants to be! Very entertaining to write (and hopefully read).**

**Now then, I've been getting a lot of reviews as of late; unfortunately, I'm gonna start only responding to questions now, or reviews I feel I should address myself; with that said, onto the reviews!**

**OMNISENSE95: I'm sure he'll figure it out, eventually ;)**

**Infinite battle: Buddy, do I have some good news for you! There already is a second chapter (and a ninth, now)!**

**fencer29: This is something I thought about a bit; we have no official date on when recommendations go in and are accepted, at least none that I could find. I figured three months before was a decent estimate as to when recommended students receive answers, to give them time to prepare for the exam, although I admit they could very easily not be told until the day of; we don't know, so I took some liberties.**

**Shini Namikaze: Good question! As of right now, it consists of purely girls from 1A; I'm debating throwing in Mei, and if I do that'll be it; no Toga guys, unless I can write it in a way that doesn't make her painfully out of character. **

**Arsinis: This is definitely an interesting review; I don't know if I agree if things are going **_**too **_**well, because so far they're going well because Izuku makes them go well; he got training because he tried to save a woman, then tried to find Shota for a month, piquing his interest. He can use One For All so well because he spent literally every day since he was 5 training his body, etc. I don't know, I like when the main character can work and have tangible rewards for that work; he'll definitely be facing some hardships, but he'll be justly rewarded for what he does right, does that make sense? I do enjoy stories with stronger main characters, and if that's not your cup of tea that's fine, I'm just not sure if my story is for you; I'm a firm believer that not everything should be made for everyone, so if you don't like where I'm taking things, its completely understandable, no harm done :)**

**Now, onto that news I mentioned: this story is getting decently long and decently popular. I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I think I'm a pretty decent writer, hell maybe even a **_**good**_** writer but I am by no means a **_**perfect**_** writer.**

**A few reviewers pointed out that I accidentally used All For One instead of One For All last chapter; to avoid silly things like that happening again, I'm looking for a beta reader. If you're interested, please let me know, and we'll talk about it!**

**Well, that about covers it! As always, if you enjoyed, leave a review, follow, and favorite; my fingers get ever so slightly more dexterous the more I get :)**

**Next chapter: Waiting for results, and the first day!**


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